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Peter Brock

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Peter Geoffrey Brock (February 26, 1945 - September 8, 2006) was a prominent Australian racecar driver and TV personality.

File:Peterbrock35.jpg
Peter Brock on the cover of the DVD 35 years on the mountain

Early years

Brock was born in the Victorian country town of Hurstbridge. His father was a mechanic, and instilled in him his love of cars.

Racing career

Brock rose to public attention in touring car racing, winning the Bathurst 1000, Australia's most prominent domestic motorsport event, a total of nine times through the 1970s and '80s. As the lead driver for the pseudo-factory Holden Dealer Team, in a succession of Holden Toranas and later Commodores the smooth-talking, clean-cut Brock became a household name well beyond motor racing fans, and was probably the best known modern Australian racing driver (Sir Jack Brabham being the most well known "classic" driver).

Brock and the Holden Dealer Team became involved, with full factory approval and assistance, in producing a number of high-performance modifications to the Commodores from 1980 to 1988. It was around this time that Brock began his run of six Bathurst 1000 wins in seven years, including his victory in the 1979 event, which he won by a record six laps. He won a total of 9 Bathurst 1000 events and 1 Bathurst 24 hour event.

HDT, under Brock's direction and with Holden factory approval, produced a number of modified high-performance roadgoing Commodores through the early and mid 1980s. Some were "homologation specials" produced to meet the Group A racing regulations.

Brock also worked with the Victorian authorities on promoting the campaign against drink driving. The most obvious sign of this association was the racecar number "05" which related to the 0.05% blood alcohol limit in Victoria. Most cars he raced in, regardless of the motor racing division, bore this number, including the one in which he died.

Brock developed an interest in New Age-style spirituality through practitioner Eric Dowker. Brock began publicly supporting, and eventually began to fit to HDT specials, a device called the "Energy Polarizer", containing strong permanent magnets, which claimed to improve the performance and handling of vehicles through "aligning the molecules". The overwhelming majority of the Australian motoring community regarded the device as pseudoscience.[1] Brock also recommended tyre pressures of 22psi(150kPa) for his polariser-equipped vehicles, a level which many regarded as near-dangerously low. Holden, fearing the consequences of being associated with the device, cut ties with Brock and set up an alternative racing/modification operation, Holden Special Vehicles.

Brock continued to race in privately-supported teams for some years afterwards, but returned to the factory Holden Racing Team in 1994. Brock retired from full-time driving in 1997.

After his 'retirement' he made two returns to Bathurst (2002 and 2004) and competed in the Nations Cup for highly modified and exotic cars in 2004. In 2002, he returned to top-level touring car racing as a team owner with the entry of "Team Brock" into the V8 Supercar category. However, he sold his share in the team to Kees Weel at the end of 2003.

He occasionally competed in various enthusiast-level motorsport events such as the Targa Tasmania. The team's vehicles are actually constructed by Holden Special Vehicles. His smooth on-camera persona and familiarity to older Australians continued to sell products, including Mobil oils and Bridgestone tyres, and the huge controversy (at the time) of the Energy Polarizer was largely forgotten.

Media work

Owing to his extraordinary success on the racing track, Brock became the highest-profile Australian racing driver and undertook several media commitments. When not racing, he often appeared on New Zealand television screens as a presenter, hosting motoring shows, notably TV3's Police Stop (1996-1998) and TVNZ's Love that Car (2000).

He was due to star in racing film King of the Mountain alongside Shannon Noll in early 2007.[2]

Personal life

Brock married Heather Russell in 1967, however this marriage ended in divorce only two years later.[3]

Several years later, Brock met 1973 Miss Australia pageant winner and Channel Seven weather presenter Michelle Downes. They married in April 1974 but this marriage was to be even shorter than his first, ending after only one year.[3][4]

Brock next entered into a relationship with Bev McIntosh, the wife of one of his motor racing team.[3] After his two failed marriages, Brock was hesitant to marry McIntosh.[3] Despite the couple never marrying, she took on his surname and they had three children together: James, Robert and Alexandra.

Bev wrote Peter's biography[5] herself in 2004 after finding most potential authors had incorrect preconceived notions about him. She also expressed a desire to show his human side, to encourage others that they, too, can achieve their goals.[6] "Even Allan Moffat said it's okay for him — it's us mortals that have the problem," she said.[6]

Brock split with Bev in May 2005, after 28 years together.[7]

After splitting with Bev, Peter began a relationship with Julie Bamford,[8] who he had met through former partner Bev some 20 years previously.[9] Bamford's estranged husband Ron McCurdy, who had once been a close friend of Brock, assaulted Brock after a chance meeting outside Brock's Foundation office.[9][10]

Death

File:IMG 2274.jpg
Peter Brock's Daytona Coupe - the day before the accident.

Peter Brock died at the age of 61 in a racing accident. The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport[11] and Western Australian Police confirmed that he lost control of his vehicle on a bend[12] and collided with a tree whilst driving in the Targa West '06 rally at 11.50am[13] on September 8, 2006, near the township of Gidgegannup, 40km north-east of Perth. Brock and co-driver Mick Hone were in a 2001 Daytona Coupe. Hone was taken to hospital in a stable condition.[12][14]

The editor of Wheels Magazine, Ged Bulmer, said that Brock would be remembered for his nine victories in the Bathurst 1000, for "He had a long and very successful career there, he was the 'King of the Mountain' as he came to be known."

References

[15] [16] [17]

  1. ^ "Interview transcript". Enough Rope with Andrew Denton. July 18,2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Staff author (21 July 2006). "Pete in a panorama". Herald Sun - Carsguide. News Ltd. pp. G19. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d "Wives in the fast lane". The Daily Telegraph. News Ltd. 15 October 2005. p. 31. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Miss Australia Divorce". The Daily Mirror. 4 August 1975. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Brock, Bev (2004). Peter Brock: Living with a Legend. Sydney: Macmillan Australia.
  6. ^ a b Stanford, James (30 October 2004). "Brocky marriage". Herald-Sun. News Ltd. p. W29. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Brock to drive solo". Herald-Sun. News Ltd. 3 May 2005. p. 20. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Brock's new model". The Advertiser. News Ltd. 10 October 2005. p. 44. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b Power, Emily (17 March 2006). "Brock feud erupts: Jilted man comes out swinging". Herald-Sun. News Ltd. p. 17. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Haberfield, Ian (2 July 2006). "Brock 'had it coming': Jilted husband has no regrets". Sunday Herald Sun. News Ltd. p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Australian Motor Racing Legend Dies in Targa West". Confederation of Australian Motorsport. September 8, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b "Racing legend Brock killed in car crash". ABC News. September 8, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Peter Brock killed in crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. September 8, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Motor racing legend Peter Brock 'reportedly killed'". The West Australian. September 8, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Captured from SEN1116AM when it was an unconfirmed report; http://media.putfile.com/Peter-Brock-Killed
  16. ^ Confirmed reports from Perth's 6PR; http://media.putfile.com/News-Reporter-on-Brock and http://media.putfile.com/NewsReporter2-on-Brock
  17. ^ Peter's last Perth radio interview; http://media.putfile.com/Audio-Peter-Brock-on-Perths-96FM-breakfast-show-today

Some sites may be unavailable due to high traffic following his recent death.

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