Icon of Australian sport Peter Brock remembered
In an article in the Herald Sun, Craig Binnie says that motor racing legend Peter Brock lives on in a remarkable tribute to his life launched yesterday.
Decades of Brock’s treasured scrapbooks and memorabilia have been brought together and published in the latest Icons of Australian Sport book, which chronicles his life and is packed with never seen before treasured family photographs and unpublished anecdotes such as the Larry Perkins tale about how he met Brock.
“It was during the 1971 Hattah Desert Rally. He was broken down on the side of the road in a Torana as I flashed past in an EH wagon,” he recalled. “I stopped and towed him back to the finish at 100mp/h. “We arrived in a cloud of dust much to the excitement of the event announcer who thought it was one of the closest finishes ever. Life with Brock was always interesting.”
Mark Skaife recalled how Brock was one of his heroes. “He amazed me by his ability to grab things by the scruff of the neck and make it all happen,” he said.
“His steering technique was not all that flash, what with wrenching the steering wheel around corners and the arm resting out of the window.” “But like Muhammad Ali he matched ordinary technique with freakish skills, hand speed and reflexes.” “The bloke was an absolute superstar.”
The launch at Crown attracted a diverse crowd and in addition to his brothers Neil, Lewis and Phil, there was racing great Bob Jane who reflected on Brock’s love of racing.
Then there was Tourism Minister Fran Bailey who was adamant she would not wear a name tag despite the fact everyone else was. She then went on to credit Brock with giving her a much needed election boost by writing a letter of support and told how he cared about social causes such as Aboriginal welfare.
To view a short video, click on this link: Vide Brock tribute book (high-res) |
The book is the second in the Icons of Australian Sport series.
Report by The Mole
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