Brocky
For the second time within five days, the nation had to say goodbye to another Australian icon. Peter Brock. He is not as internationally known as Steve Irwin, but he has been the hero of thousands of people, men in particular, over the last forty years.
For those of you who don't know Peter Brock, he is an Australian legend in motor racing. The toughest touring car race in the country, the Bathurst 1000, he has won it nine times, nobody has come close. His biggest winning margin was six laps. Bathurst is a unique track. It starts at the bottom of Mount Panaroma, through Mountain Straight the big V8s roar up the mountain, through twists and bends, then fly down via Conrod Straight. The track is narrow, one mistake and the wall's your friend. The track itself isn't the only obstacle, throughout the years there have been rocks that have come from nowhere, the weather is unpredictable, sun could be shining at the pits while hail is bucketing down the top of the mountain. There have also been numerous occasions where kangaroos are seen hopping across the track, some haven't been so lucky to have been hit by cars, while some of those cars have also been unlucky to sustain damage too serious to continue.
Having sidetracked about Bathurst, back to Peter. Peter Brock officially retired from professionally racing V8 Supercars in 1997. The temptation to go back and win for the tenth time got him twice, but the mountain beat him. Driving was still his passion and he continued to participate in targa rally events at places like Tasmania and Western Australia. On Friday morning, he was driving in the Targa Western Australia event near Perth. At a sharp hairpin, his Daytona drifted out, the driver's side hit a gum tree, and Brocky was killed instantly. His co-driver Mick Hone was conscious the whole time, he told the public that right after they hit and the car had stopped, he reached over for Peter's hand, and there was already no response. This accident was a total shock for the whole motor racing community. Brocky was known as Peter Perfect, he was the most skillful touring car driver Australia has ever seen. He was the face of Holden, the face of Bridgestone, as well as many roadsafe campaigns. He was a true gentleman, on and off the road. There have been many fierce battles on track, but his rivals say they never swapped paint. He had never crashed on track, in fact they say he rarely needed spare parts as his car was always perfect after races. When I came to Australia and saw Bathurst for the first time, I learnt of Brocky. His famous number 05. I found it so unique that it was 05 and not 5. That's his number, he always raced with that number, much like Valentino Rossi's 46.
In four week's time it will be this year's Bathurst 1000. It will be emotional, there will be numerous banners with tributes to Brocky. He is the reason why a lot of V8 drivers are racing whether they drive a Holden or a Ford. He is the true King of the Mountain. He is Peter Perfect. There is nobody like Brocky.
For those of you who don't know Peter Brock, he is an Australian legend in motor racing. The toughest touring car race in the country, the Bathurst 1000, he has won it nine times, nobody has come close. His biggest winning margin was six laps. Bathurst is a unique track. It starts at the bottom of Mount Panaroma, through Mountain Straight the big V8s roar up the mountain, through twists and bends, then fly down via Conrod Straight. The track is narrow, one mistake and the wall's your friend. The track itself isn't the only obstacle, throughout the years there have been rocks that have come from nowhere, the weather is unpredictable, sun could be shining at the pits while hail is bucketing down the top of the mountain. There have also been numerous occasions where kangaroos are seen hopping across the track, some haven't been so lucky to have been hit by cars, while some of those cars have also been unlucky to sustain damage too serious to continue.
Having sidetracked about Bathurst, back to Peter. Peter Brock officially retired from professionally racing V8 Supercars in 1997. The temptation to go back and win for the tenth time got him twice, but the mountain beat him. Driving was still his passion and he continued to participate in targa rally events at places like Tasmania and Western Australia. On Friday morning, he was driving in the Targa Western Australia event near Perth. At a sharp hairpin, his Daytona drifted out, the driver's side hit a gum tree, and Brocky was killed instantly. His co-driver Mick Hone was conscious the whole time, he told the public that right after they hit and the car had stopped, he reached over for Peter's hand, and there was already no response. This accident was a total shock for the whole motor racing community. Brocky was known as Peter Perfect, he was the most skillful touring car driver Australia has ever seen. He was the face of Holden, the face of Bridgestone, as well as many roadsafe campaigns. He was a true gentleman, on and off the road. There have been many fierce battles on track, but his rivals say they never swapped paint. He had never crashed on track, in fact they say he rarely needed spare parts as his car was always perfect after races. When I came to Australia and saw Bathurst for the first time, I learnt of Brocky. His famous number 05. I found it so unique that it was 05 and not 5. That's his number, he always raced with that number, much like Valentino Rossi's 46.
In four week's time it will be this year's Bathurst 1000. It will be emotional, there will be numerous banners with tributes to Brocky. He is the reason why a lot of V8 drivers are racing whether they drive a Holden or a Ford. He is the true King of the Mountain. He is Peter Perfect. There is nobody like Brocky.