Peter Brock facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Peter Brock
Peter Brock in August 2006
Born	Peter Geoffrey Brock (1945-02-26)26 February 1945 Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Died	8 September 2006(2006-09-08) (aged 61) Gidgegannup, Western Australia, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Known for	Racing driver
Spouse(s)	Heather Russell (m. 1967⁠–⁠1969) Michelle Downes (m. 1974⁠–⁠1975)
Partner(s)	Beverly Brock (1978–2005)
Children	2
Relatives	Lewis Brock (brother) Phil Brock (brother)

Retired	2004
ATCC / V8 Supercars
Years active	1972–1997, 2002, 2004
Teams	Holden Dealer Team Gown-Hindhaugh Racing Team Brock Perkins Engineering Advantage Racing Holden Racing Team Rod Nash Racing
Starts	212
Wins	48
Poles	57
Best finish	1st in 1974, 1978, 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship
Previous series
1974 1996 2003–2004	Australian Formula 2 Championship Australian Super Touring Championship Australian Nations Cup Championship
Awards
2001	V8 Supercars Hall of Fame

Peter Geoffrey Brock (born February 26, 1945 – died September 8, 2006) was a famous Australian motor racing driver. People knew him as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky". For almost 40 years, Brock was closely linked with Holden cars. However, he also raced cars from other brands like BMW, Ford, Volvo, Porsche, and Peugeot.

He won the important Bathurst 1000 endurance race nine times. He also won the Sandown 500 touring car race nine times and the Australian Touring Car Championship three times. In 2001, he was added to the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame because of his amazing career. Brock also had a business called the Holden Dealer Team (HDT). This team built his racing cars and made special high-performance road cars based on his race cars.

Early Years

Peter Brock was born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia. His family lived in Hurstbridge, Victoria, a country town that is now a suburb of Melbourne. Peter lived there his whole life. He went to Eltham High School. His first car was an Austin 7, which he bought for only £5 (about A$10). He joked that he became a better driver because his car didn't have brakes!

In 1965, Brock joined the Australian Army for two years. He was stationed near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. During his time in the army, Brock worked as an ambulance driver. His brother Lewis said that Peter and his friends used to race the ambulances around the base. Another famous racing driver, Dick Johnson, was also at the same barracks at that time. Johnson later became one of Brock's main rivals in touring car races.

In 1966, while on leave from the army, Brock visited Bathurst for the first time. He watched the 500-mile production car race, which later became the Bathurst 1000. After seeing the race, he decided he wanted to become a race car driver. His brother Phil also became a racing driver and raced with Peter at the Bathurst 1000 a couple of times.

Racing Career

Brock at Symmons Plains in 1982

In his early racing days, Peter Brock drove some unusual cars. One famous car was a blue Austin A30 with a 6-cylinder Holden engine. He became well-known in touring car racing.

Bathurst Races

Brock first raced at Bathurst in 1969. He drove a Holden HT Monaro GTS 350 and finished third. He won the Bathurst 500 for the first time in 1972. This was the last year the race was 500 miles long and the last time a driver could race alone.

Peter Brock won the Bathurst race a total of nine times between 1972 and 1987. No other driver has won it as many times. His win in 1979 was amazing. He and his co-driver Jim Richards won by six laps! This record might never be broken because of new race rules. Brock also set the fastest lap record on the very last lap of that race. He earned the nickname King of the Mountain for his incredible success at Bathurst.

Brock also won the Bathurst 24 Hour race in 2003. He drove a powerful Holden Monaro 427C with a 7.0L V8 engine. He considered this his tenth Bathurst win, even though it wasn't the famous Bathurst 1000.

Sandown Races

Besides his wins at Bathurst, Brock also won the Sandown 500 race nine times. This race was usually held before Bathurst. He won seven times in a row from 1975 to 1981. He won 37 races in total during his career in the Australian Touring Car and V8 Supercar championships. This was a record until Mark Skaife equalled it in 2006.

Other Australian Races

Brock also tried Open wheel racing for a short time. He raced a Birrana 273 car in 1973 and finished 8th in the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship.

The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) worked with Holden to make special high-performance versions of the Commodore cars. These cars were very close to race cars. During this time, Brock won the Bathurst 1000 six times in seven years. He had two "hat tricks" (three wins in a row): from 1978 to 1980 with Jim Richards, and from 1982 to 1984 with Larry Perkins and John Harvey.

Peter Brock racing at Wanneroo Park in 1985 in a Holden Commodore VK

Even though he was known for Holden, Brock also raced other car brands. After a disagreement with Holden in 1987, he raced a BMW M3 in 1988. He then drove a Ford Sierra RS500 in 1989 and 1990. These turbo-charged Sierras were the best cars to have at the time.

In 1991, Brock returned to driving Holdens. He teamed up with his former co-driver Larry Perkins. He also raced a Volvo 850 in a special 12-hour race in 1994. In 1996, he raced for the Volvo Dealer Racing team in the Australian Super Touring Championship.

International Racing

Brock raced internationally a few times. In 1971, he raced in the Guia touring car Race in Macau, finishing second.

He also tried the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France three times. In 1976, he drove a BMW 3.0CSL, but the car broke down after 17 hours. In 1981, he was a reserve driver for a Porsche team but didn't race. In 1984, he raced a Porsche 956B with Larry Perkins. They had some car problems and had to stop the race early.

In 1977, Brock and British driver Gerry Marshall finished second in the Spa 24 Hours race in Belgium, driving a Vauxhall Magnum.

Brock also surprised many people by winning the 1979 Repco Round Australia Trial. This was a long-distance rally race around Australia, which was very different from the circuit racing he was known for. He drove a 6-cylinder Holden VB Commodore. He raced again in the 1995 Round Australia Trial and finished 3rd.

Retirement Activities

After 1991, Brock continued to race his own cars before joining the factory Holden Racing Team in 1994. He officially retired from full-time racing after the 1997 Australian Touring Car season.

He returned to Bathurst twice after retiring. In 2002, he raced a Commodore VX but finished 23rd due to engine problems. In 2004, he returned to the Holden Racing Team. His co-driver, Jason Plato, crashed early in the race, so Brock didn't get to drive in his last Bathurst race.

In 2003, he won the Bathurst 24 Hour race, which he counted as his tenth Bathurst endurance win. He also raced in the Australian Nations Cup Championship in 2003 and 2004.

In 2002, he became a team patron for Rod Nash Racing, which was renamed 'Team Brock'. He also mentored the 'Team Brock' in 2003.

Brock also took part in other motorsport events like the Targa Tasmania rally. He was also well-known for appearing in commercials for companies like Mobil and Bridgestone tyres.

Other Activities

Media Work

Because he was so successful, Peter Brock became a very famous Australian racing driver. He often appeared on TV. In New Zealand, he hosted motoring shows like Police Stop and Love That Car. In Australia, he hosted a similar show called Police Camera Action.

Many DVD documentaries have been made about Peter Brock's life and career. He was also going to star in a racing film called King of the Mountain.

The Peter Brock Foundation

Peter Brock started 'The Peter Brock Foundation'. This organization helps young people and others in Australia who are facing difficulties. It gets money from companies and public donations. The Foundation is still helping people today.

Standing in Community

As the main driver for the Holden Dealer Team, Peter Brock became a household name. He was one of the most famous modern Australian and New Zealand racing drivers. People respected him as much as Formula One World Champions like Jack Brabham.

In 1986, he was named King of Moomba at the Melbourne festival.

Personal Life

Relationships

Brock married Heather Russell in 1967, but they divorced two years later.

Later, he met Michelle Downes, who was Miss Australia in 1973 and a TV weather presenter. They married in April 1974 but divorced after only one year.

Brock then started a relationship with Beverly "Bev" McIntosh. Even though they never officially married, Peter always called Bev his "wife," and she changed her last name to Brock. They had two children together, Robert and Alexandra. Bev also had an older son, James, from a previous marriage. Bev wrote a book about Peter in 2004 to show his human side. She said he was not perfect but never violent.

Peter and Bev separated in May 2005 after 28 years. Their daughter Alexandra had a grandson, Oliver, in June 2006, just two months before Peter passed away.

After splitting with Bev, Peter started a relationship with Julie Bamford.

Lifestyle

Peter Brock changed his lifestyle a lot after a difficult race in Le Mans in 1984. He became a vegetarian and later a vegan, though he eventually went back to being a vegetarian.

Death

Peter Brock's Daytona Sportscar - the day before the accident.

On September 8, 2006, Peter Brock was driving in the Targa West '06 rally. He was very close to the end of a race section when his 2001 Daytona Sportscar skidded off the road. The car hit a tree on the driver's side. Peter Brock, who was 61 years old, died very quickly after the crash. His co-driver, Mick Hone, was taken to the hospital but was in stable condition. Police looked at video footage of the crash to understand what happened. The coroner decided that high speed caused his death.

Brock's children accepted an offer for a Victorian state funeral. His former partner Bev said that Peter was loved and that a big funeral was how he would have wanted to be remembered.

The editor of Wheels Magazine said that Brock would always be remembered for his nine wins at Bathurst. He was truly "the 'King of the Mountain'".

Peter Brock in the Daytona Coupe racing in Targa Tasmania 2006

Peter Brock's state funeral was held at Melbourne's St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral on September 19, 2006. A permanent memorial was placed at his home racetrack, Sandown Raceway, on September 22.

Legacy

The Peter Brock Memorial at the National Motor Racing Museum in Bathurst.

To honor Peter Brock's achievements, the Bathurst 1000 winner's trophy is now called the Peter Brock Trophy. It was first used in the 2006 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Craig Lowndes, who was seen as Brock's student, won this first trophy with Jamie Whincup. Lowndes and Whincup went on to win three Bathurst 1000s in a row, just like Brock did twice.

A statue of Peter Brock was built near the National Motor Racing Museum in Bathurst. It shows Brock standing on his 1984 Bathurst-winning Holden VK Commodore. Two roads in Sydney are also named Peter Brock Drive.

A two-part TV show about his life, called Brock, was shown in October 2016.

Awards

Peter Brock received several awards for his racing and for helping the community:

Member of the Order of Australia (1980) – for his service to motor racing.
Australian Sports Medal (2000)
Centenary Medal (2001) – for helping raise money for the community.
National Service Medal (2006) – for his military service.