77 replies to this topic

[David Shaw]

A week after appearing at Goodwood, it has now been confirmed that Peter Brock has died in an accident while competing in Targa West in Western Australia.

No real details yet, but there will be more known soon.

[stuartbrs]

Terrible news.

I thought he said he wasnt competing in these kind of rallies anymore?

[Fiorentina 1]

I can't believe it; there are some drivers you think this can never happen to them..... http://townsvillebul...5E23770,00.html

RIP

[L'Autista]

http://www.theage.co...7222310944.html

speechless really..

[Gary Davies]

Terribly, terribly sad news. RIP. Great memories.

[cosworth bdg]

R.I.P. memories

[mark f1]

I can't believe it. R.I.P Peter.

What a week, first Steve Irwin, now Peter Brock...

[275 GTB-4]

Very sad news....the man was true Champion and did a huge amount of good and work for Australian Motor Racing.

Heres hoping also that motorcycle racer Mick Hone pulls through.

[Falcadore]

Stable condition according to the news reports. It's gutting. The office is in party mode here tonight, and here's me tearing up in the corner. He was the first name I acknowledged outside of my family when I was a toddler I'm told.

I'm sorry I'm done....

[Vicuna]

Originally posted by 275 GTB-4
Very sad news....the man was true Champion and did a huge amount of good and work for Australian Motor Racing.

Not to mention NZ Motor Racing

[Vicuna]

Originally posted by 275 GTB-4
Very sad news....the man was true Champion and did a huge amount of good and work for Australian Motor Racing.

Heres hoping also that motorcycle racer Mick Hone pulls through.

Here here

[fausto]

Very sad news, RIP

[Gary C]

I can't believe it, Brockie was the first Aussie race driver I ever took notice of. RIP Peter.

[Robert Bailey]

Originally posted by 275 GTB-4
Very sad news....the man was true Champion and did a huge amount of good and work for Australian Motor Racing.

Heres hoping also that motorcycle racer Mick Hone pulls through.

Micks a good mate spoke to some of boys close to family,he spoke to them on way to hospital said he was OK.

[Doug Nye]

Just heard this tragic news. Played cricket with Peter a week ago - spent time with him and his Holden team over last weekend too. So often it's the good blokes. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Most, most Sincerely.

DCN

[howardt]

Growing up the UK, I didn't get to hear much about Australian motorsport, but Peter Brock was the exception. I always made a point of watching the Bathurst 1000, and he was always the star.

I saw his car in the paddock at goodwood last weekend, and wanted to hang around to see if he showed up, but the people I was with wanted to move on, so I didn't get to meet him.

[Twin Window]

Terribly sad news. But, as his ex-wife has said, at least he died doing what he loved best. Scant consolation to those near and dear to him I fear.

A truly awful week for Australia, losing two of her most popular figures within a working week...

[Richard Jenkins]

Wow. This is an unpleasant shock to start the day. What a terrible week for Australia.

My condolences to his family, and his many, many friends & many, many fans.


Of all those at Goodwood last week, Brocky probably would've been the last person you'd expect to die first.

RIP.

[Vitesse2]

There are no words .....

As Doug said, 'Peter Perfect ' was one of the good guys. He was the best reason for watching those big Aussie V8s and Bathurst.

RIP Brockie

[275 GTB-4]

I'm sure there will be lots of photo tributes for Peter.....but here is one that is a little unusual but really does capture the measure of the man.....he would be in everything but a bath (to coin a phrase).....we heard tonight the inspirational stories about PB supporting our Olympic team from Laurie Lawrence and that was something else.

Here he is a few years back with some forgettable politician after debuting a protected vehicle for the Army in Canberra......arriving with a fanfare, explosions, smoke and a flourish that only Brockie could have pulled off.

Australia really is the poorer for his departure

[275 GTB-4]

Originally posted by Robert Bailey
Micks a good mate spoke to some of boys close to family,he spoke to them on way to hospital said he was OK.

Thanks Robert....hope your mate gets well real soon....I've seen Mike race bikes a few times and he is someome to be admired....but now is not the time to with the loss of PB

[Option1]

Sad, sad news. For some reason it feels like losing a mate. RIP Brocky.

A nice interview with Bev here.

Neil

[kevthedrummer]

Devastating news. Another character gone. Condolences to his family and friends.

[Ray Bell]

Well, for me it is losing a mate...

Not that I've had much to do with Peter over the past twenty years or so, but prior to that, and especially in the period leading up to his first race, we were somewhat close.

I used to stay at his place when I went to Melbourne for race meetings, we were ardent 'penpals' for over a year, but that all went by the board when he left the army, married and started racing. All of which happened in about four months.

I still stayed out at Wattle Glen a time or two later, but in time my position as a journalist kind of spoiled the chance of remaining close friends.

It's worth mentioning, I guess, about when Geoff Brock died. That was in 1994, I'd say, and Peter had him staying in a little house on his property. I got there too late to see Geoff, but caught up with Peter and we had a little talk about things.

"You can't get away from death," he said, "it's a part of life."

All so simple, but true.

For those many people around Australia who are hit hard by his death, by this I mean the serious Brock fans, the ones who collect the memorabilia and stand in line for the autographs, take the photos and so on, I can say this. Peter will have known how you felt.

In 1969 he would have regarded Bevan Gibson as one of his potential rivals. Bevan had made it into the Bob Jane team, Peter was still racing on his own, and he knew him.

Peter raced his A30 at Hume Weir on Easter Sunday, then drove overnight to Bathurst to spectate at the rather more serious races being held there. From the top of the mountain he saw Bevan's fearful crash.

I hadn't caught up with him that day until that time, then I saw him walking away from the Shell Tower, he was ashen faced, he knew that Bevan was dead. He knew that a friend had just died suddenly and violently.

[green-blood]

What a true legend we have lost today.

I was hoping he would become a regualr at the goodwood thing and bring more of Ozzie tin top history to sho us all.

condolances to his family and friends

RIP

[GhostR]

Originally posted by Option1
Sad, sad news. For some reason it feels like losing a mate. RIP Brocky.

A nice interview with Bev here.

Neil

Yes, great insight into the man from the one person who knew him best. I hope they go back and re-edit the piece into something a bit more coherent, though. Suspect the author must have been a big fan.

RIP Peter Perfect, King of the Mountain.

[FLB]

What a week for Australia...


RIP Mr. Brock, you brought something to our lives that we cannot bring ourselves.

[GreenMachine]

From the top of the mountain he saw Bevan's fearful crash.

I was on the Mountain that day too. Unfortunately, I was watching Gibson (chasing the P4 IIRC) down Conrod through binoculars when he flipped going over one of those infamous humps, a sight that will remain with me for many years yet I suspect. It certainly brought home just how useful thiose 'rollbars' were at that time, although I would not want to see how today's safety equipment would have worked in those circumstances.

I don't think I have ever taken binoculars to a race meeting since ...

RIP Peter Brock

[Ray Bell]

It was the Matich SR4, and he simply wouldn't have been chasing it had it not been for the fact that it had a misfire...

The night before, in a conference with John Harvey and Bob Jane, Bevan was told to back off there. He had reported that the front of the car was lifting and there was discussion about whether or not they should do something about the aerodynamics of the car before race day.

The conclusion was that it wasn't right to do something like that without the opportunity to test it. This is covered in the 'Rise and Fall of Peter Brock' book, oddly enough.

[Keir]

King of the Mountain !

[Rosemayer]

There is also a long thread on the RC forum with comments by doug nye

RIP Peter

[Tom Thomas]

A very sad week for all of us. Two of Australia's finest. R.I.P, Peter Brock and Steve Irwin. We'll miss you.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Rosemayer
There is also a long thread on the RC forum with comments by doug nye

In which it was suggested I could add more...

However, I'm still not allowed to post in RC. I have no idea why. So if anyone chooses to copy this over to that thread they're quite welcome. It's the obituary I've written to be a part of the pages MRA will run in the wake of the crash.

Written for Motor Racing Australia

They knew him as PB. That was all they needed. When they think of him not being around any more, they will still think of him as PB.

Peter Brock’s closest friends were Ken (Mitchell) and Al. They went to race meetings together, they worked on their cars together, and these two young men admired PB’s ability at the wheel.

Their collective enthusiasm for racing was enormous. It was the kind of enthusiasm that tends to burn out, but in PB and in Kenny Mitchell it never burned out. Ken still races in Historic events, Peter Brock came back from his very public retirement to win a 24-hour race and contest all sorts of odd events.

I saw this enthusiasm when I first met Peter at Catalina Park in January, 1966. He was with army friends not familiar with racing, and he wanted to talk to someone who knew what things were about.

At that time, Peter was thirsting for racing. Confined to barracks during the week, his escape of a weekend enabled him to touch things he wanted to touch, to see things he wanted to see, to work towards his dream.

But within the barracks, all he could do was dream. And write letters. We were penpals for the balance of his time in the army, and those letters expressed his enthusiasm as much as did his conversation when we got together.

Plans to put a 186S Holden engine into an Austin A30. Plans to race in Sports Sedans and use this simple, light and potentially powerful car to demonstrate the superiority of the Holden power unit.

Geoff Brock was a Holden man. From his youth, Peter was a Holden man. He had a job at a Holden dealership behind the spare parts counter.

With many drivers, one race blends into another, one season is displaced by the next. But the passion of Peter Brock was such that every memory was held in place, every detail stored and retrieved to be relived as required.

To see him wide-eyed explaining something, using his hands to show the position of two cars, expressing himself with that underlying passion, was to see him living his life.

In these ways, the Peter Brock I knew in those early days continued to live on. But as he climbed the ladder of success, as he felt greater pressures, as he travelled more widely and spent more time being a public figure, he became less available as a friend.

I wasn’t the only one to feel this, either. But it was a natural result of the way his life changed in those years. He gave generously to the public in general, continually being available to sign autographs and media interviews, but always surrounded by PR people and other minders.

During his ‘retirement year’ he was scheduled to do in-store appearances in Brisbane shortly after Lakeside. We arranged that I’d be able to spend a little time talking to him at one of these, but when that time came, his minders whisked him away. Peter looked at me and shrugged.

But while his personal life was being restricted by these demands, his racing career spent most of thirty years simply going from strength to strength. The seventies saw the racing come to him like a magnet, those years leading into the eighties and the string of challengers that lined up to try and tip him from his pedestal.

Not that he was always on top, of course. Those Sandown and Bathurst victories were special events, but his success ratio in other races wasn’t so great. All the same, he was in there running with the hares most of the time, and it was for a very long time.

It was all a long way removed from dreaming in the Kapooka barracks. Or thrashing around the family farm on a bare Austin 7 chassis. Or thrashing his mates after the race meetings at Tarrawingee.

Still there was intrigue in his career. Like that mysterious detonation that put him out of Bathurst while six laps ahead in 1974. Phil Irving couldn’t explain it, Harry Firth didn’t try, but it set the stage for Peter to be ‘released’ by the HDT at the end of that year. The year he first won the ATCC. Shortly after his very public separation from second wife, Michelle Downs.

A year to be spent in the wilderness, one would think. But then that other factor that helped him through life came to the fore. Luck.

Out at Calder one day he found Bruce Hindhaugh and Norm Gown testing their new L34. Not sure they were taking the right direction, they asked Peter if he’d try it – and he did. He lapped in times that would win in any company, which (to say the least) impressed the car owners.

They gave their car to Peter to race, he rewarded them with that Bathurst win that confirmed that he could do it without factory backing. Bathurst, also Sandown and also Phillip Island. Three of the four endurance races they entered.

The next year, in the Team Brock car he again won Sandown and took out the Surfers enduro too, while Bathurst brought third place despite a broken axle (while Phil was driving) and the fuel pickup not allowing full distance between stops. But he did get fastest lap.

More than any of his results in the HDT, these wins cemented his standing with the powers that be at GM-H. History shows that he was invited back to the ‘official’ team and remained there until the infamous Polariser incident.

Again it was a case of his misjudged personal life spilling over to intrude in his career. Another term outside the protective environment that seemed to be his eternal haven followed. It was much longer, but it ultimately ended the only way it could end.

GM-H had nobody else who could so capably present the public image on their behalf, so they had to take him back. He was to race with them until retirement time.

I don’t believe he found it so easy in those later years. He was aging, of course, but still youthful. But not nearly so youthful as those surrounding him on the grids of 1997. I never got to ask him, but I think the litmus test of his skills was that crash on the top of the mountain in 1996.

Nevertheless, he was leading the race in ’97 when mechanical failure intervened.

Released from the pressures of racing in such an intense environment, PB began to enjoy himself more. Behind the scenes, he and Bev (who’d joined Peter in his life in the 1977) were helping children from Anglicare by taking them into their home.

Then came events like the one in which he died. He found that he wasn’t ready to hang up the driving suit completely, so he took on various events as offers came his way. That thirst was still there, but now he was able to readily slake it.

The rebirth of Team Brock saw him more active on the circuits for a while, with the climax of this mini-career being the 24-hour win at Bathurst.

Thundering around Bathurst in a 7-litre Monaro, driving it through a day and a night, Peter Brock was doing something PB probably dreamed of doing back in the barracks. And that, I feel, is something to consider when reflecting on his life and his death.

So many of the things he dreamed of doing he did. Racing in 24-hour events at Le Mans and Spa, winning the Bathurst enduro time after time, becoming the master of his trade through perseverance, learning and innate skill, it all appealed to him.

The challenge presented to him when he went in the 1979 Repco round-Australia trial was enormous. But he won through, that necessary bit of luck saving him during an impetuous moment early in the event.

These are things that he’d hardly have expected to have come his way when he watched the progress of the early RedEx Trials, or when his father took him to Altona to watch Jack Brabham and Stan Jones do battle.

But it was undoubtedly those early times that formed in him the desire and the gave him the basic knowledge that would bring him ultimate success.

It stood out that day at Catalina Park in 1966. As we watched the cars circulate, he was studying their lines and referring back to the similar studying he’d done of Jones’ and Brabham’s lines at Altona in 1954.

Not for the young Peter to simply watch the cars, he was more intensely interested in how he could master them as did the star performers of the time. It wasn’t incidental to his presence there, it was almost the purpose of it.

Buried in the pages of the book, The Rise and Fall of Peter Brock, John Harvey reveals details of the mistake that Bevan Gibson made that cost him his life.

Spectating at that meeting, after competing in his A30 at Hume Weir and driving up overnight, Peter Brock watched his friend and fellow competitor make that mistake and die.

All of which makes the simplicity and outcome of that final corner of his life less acceptable yet more understandable. A mistake that cost dearly. Just like we learned in April 1968, it can happen to anyone.


Ray Bell

[Ray Bell]

When we put together the magazine about Brock in 1979, just after he'd won the Repco Trial and Bathurst yet again, we had a lot of Philip Morris promotional photos from which we could choose... and this was the one that really grabbed me.

The situation was that immediately prior to the Hardie's Heroes in 1978, the second team car was crashed in the esses by Charlie O'Brien. This put him out of the Hardie's Heroes, and he was pretty distraught.

Peter pulled up at the end of the session and was caught by the PM photographer, Kevin Cassidy, consoling the junior driver... sorry about the quality of the pic, I had to shoot it with my digital camera using the flash because I don't have a scanner hooked up...

[frogeye59]

So very, very sad.

I, like many others, was looking forward to seeing him at Goodwood in the future, following his impressive showing in the Holden FX only last week.

Friday Practice Goodwood 06



St Marys Trophy (Part1) Goodwood 06



RIP "Peter Perfect"



David

[Dennis Currington]

Originally posted by Twin Window
Terribly sad news. But, as his ex-wife has said, at least he died doing what he loved best. Scant consolation to those near and dear to him I fear.

A truly awful week for Australia, losing two of her most popular figures within a working week...

Truly sad news. What is really ironic is that Brock was driving a Cobra Daytona Coupe.

I just confirmed with the American Peter Brock, who designed the original Cobra Daytona Coupe for Shelby in the early '60s, that the car the Aussie PB was driving as not one of his Superformance Coupe Apparently it was a kit car with a Chevy engine that was made in AU. One of the articles on the accident mentioned that Brock had said that the car was handling poorly prior to Targa.

The two PBs were together at Goodwood last weekend and even discussed the car that AU PB would be driving in the Targa this week.

[Andrew Fellowes]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
It's the obituary I've written to be a part of the pages MRA will run in the wake of the crash.

Thank you for posting your obituary. He was due to drive a Torana here next weekend, so very, very sad. Oh dear, what a awful week its been.

[eldougo]

R.I.P. memories

It sure was a sad day yesterday ,we lost OUR Greatest motor racing ambassador and a bloke that did it his way ,dislike him or love him Peter Brock was a nice guy and it was a pleasure to have him entertain us over the years.
____________________________________________________________

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by eldougo
R.I.P. memories

It sure was a sad day yesterday ,we lost OUR Greatest motor racing ambassador and a bloke that did it his way ,dislike him or love him Peter Brock was a nice guy and it was a pleasure to have him entertain us over the years.
____________________________________________________________

Here ,Here R.I.P

[Wilyman]

On waking this morning I thought, was yesterday a dream? Not to be.

I've run up my little Aus flag half mast for Peter Brock OAM.

I have great respect for Ross Dunkerton but I'm annoyed about his too soon comments on the possible cause, fatigue etc. Shut it Ross!

[Robert Bailey]

Good friend spoke to co/driver Mick Hone and comment was he felt Peter was fresh and had 2 nights sleep since returning from the UK.

[Robert Bailey]

Wonderful photo of Peter on the front of the Age paper(www.theage.com.au) close up shot.Peter looks like one of the prewar land speed greats,Campbell,Segrave,Cobb or Eyston just about to set of on another record run.

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by Robert Bailey
Wonderful photo of Peter on the front of the Age paper(www.theage.com.au) close up shot.Peter looks like one of the prewar land speed greats,Campbell,Segrave,Cobb or Eyston just about to set of on another record run.

Please do not compare Brock to any of those 4 GREATS of the past.........

[Bondy]

nice pics Robert.... i found some cool ones in the Birrana

[Gary Davies]

Originally posted by cosworth bdg
Please do not compare Brock to any of those 4 GREATS of the past.........

First, Robert Bailey isn't, imo.

And second, please don't be so damn arrogant, sir! Those four gentlemen were admirable in many ways, no doubt, and whilst conceding that comparisons are odious, Brock's achievements, versatility and ... decency, make his a life that bears comparison with the very finest of his fellows.

[kamix]

I'm a bit younger than most of you blokes, grew up in the 80's when every kid on my street had a Brocky poster on their wall. Today I spoke with my 12yo brother and he didn't know who Peter Brock was! But those of us whose lives he touched will never forget him.

Personally I met him when I was about 8 or 9, my dad's company had a minor sponsorship with a F1 team for the Adelaide GP (I think it was Ligier or Larousse) and had scored some pitpasses. He got us in to their garage where none other than P.B. was hanging out soaking up the atmosphere, he had a long chat and signed a programme or something for us, and we got a photo of me sitting in the F1 car with my dad on one sidepod and Brocky on the other (I wish I knew where that photo is now, I've never actually seen it).

But it was the first time I got up close and personal with one of my legends and he did nothing but make me go out and buy more posters.

Some more memories of those times - over about 10 years of F1 in Adelaide my mate, who lived across the road from me and who tended to go general admission while we were in boxes, scored: an entire F1 sidepod assembly including most plumbing, a busted up F1 steering wheel, 2 rear shredded F1 tyres, various fosters signage etc. etc. All of which were mounted on his bedroom wall (and probably still are). Back then when a car had a big off the crowd did a better job of getting it off the circuit than the marshalls.

[JSF]

Absolutely terrible news.

At Goodwood on Sunday i had a long chat with Peter's partner Julie, as we sat together for lunch. Julie was telling me about the work Peter was doing with the Peter Brock Foundation and how it meant a great deal to him that he could put something positive into the lives of people who need a helping hand. I hope the foundation can continue to do its work in his memory. http://peterbrockfoundation.com.au/

My thoughts go to Julie and all his friends and family. Rest in Peace Peter.

[Robert Bailey]

Originally posted by Bondy
[remB]nice pics Robert.... i found some cool ones in the Birrana [/B]

remember 1st time Bruce mcteer race that car after resto in early 90s? Bob Minogue did much of the work and I think Don Halpin did the motor.Very pretty car and a proud moment for Ramsey and his people in SA.Peter I was not coparing PB to the Fast Set and George Eyston,what I was saying his photo in the age was TO Me a similar type shot.

[Stan Patterson]

It is very sad news...

But lets, out of respect, not yet examine the contribution or otherwise these touring car drivers and their spin doctors have have inflicted on Australian motor sport.

[Dennis Currington]

Here is a video of AU TV reporting the accident.

http://video.google....1&q=Peter Brock