Peter Geoffrey Brock, known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Volvo, Porsche and Peugeot. He won the Bathurst 1000 endurance race nine times, the Sandown 500 touring car race nine times, the Australian Touring Car Championship three times, the Bathurst 24 Hour once and was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2001. Brock's business activities included the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) that produced Brock's racing machines as well as a number of modified high-performance road versions of his racing cars.
The Bathurst 1000 is a 1,000-kilometre (621.4 mi) touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recent incarnation of the Australian Touring Car Championship. In 1987 it was a round of the World Touring Car Championship. The Bathurst 1000 is colloquially known as The Great Race among motorsport fans and media. The race originated with the 1960 Armstrong 500 with a 500 mile race distance at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit; it was relocated to Bathurst in 1963 also with the 500 mile distance and has continued there every year since, extending to a 1,000 kilometer race in 1973. The race was traditionally run on the New South Wales Labour-Day long weekend in early October. Since 2001, the race has been run on the weekend following the long weekend, generally the second weekend of October.
Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialised manufacturing, for which it gained a high reputation. It is now best known as a retailer of spare parts and motor accessories.
Craig Andrew LowndesOAM is an Australian racing car driver in the Repco Supercars Championship racing for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator.
Jim Richards is a New Zealand racing driver who won numerous championships in his home country and in Australia. While now retired from professional racing, Richards continues to compete in the Touring Car Masters series.
The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was Holden's semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1986, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and Sports Sedan races during the 1970s. From 1980 the Holden Dealer Team, by then under the ownership of Peter Brock, diversified into producing modified road-going Commodores and other Holden cars for selected dealers via HDT Special Vehicles.
The Holden Commodore (VB) is a mid-size car that was produced by Holden, from 1978 to 1980. It was the first iteration of the first generation of the Holden Commodore, and was the Holden version of the General Motors V-body (V78) platform - developed primarily for the Opel Rekord E.
Motorsport is a popular spectator sport in Australia, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. The oldest motorsport competition in Australia is the Alpine Rally which was first staged in 1921 followed by the Australian Grand Prix, first staged in 1928. The most widely watched motorsport category is Supercars, especially at the Bathurst 1000. Other classes in Australia include Australian GT, Formula 3 and Formula Ford, Superbikes, as well as various forms of speedway racing.
The Ford works team was the unofficial name for an Australian motor racing team which was supported by the Ford Motor Company of Australia. The team was formed in 1962 and was disbanded when Ford Australia withdrew from motor racing at the end of 1973. Drivers for the works team included Allan Moffat, Fred Gibson, Harry Firth, Bob Jane, Barry Seton, Bruce McPhee, John French, Ian Geoghegan and his brother Leo Geoghegan. Ford Australia also supported a factory rally team in Australia from 1977 to 1980.
The Round Australia Trial was a long distance rally, which was run on multiple occasions between 1953 and 1998, circumnavigating Australia. Its early years were tremendously popular as the roads through large portions of the country, particularly west of Adelaide, were unformed. Automobile manufacturers enthused over the event as it provided a particularly severe test event for their products, proving their cars were able to stand up to whatever conditions remote Australia could provide. Early editions of the event were heroic tests and were front-page fodder for the newspapers of the era.
John Eric Murray, generally known as Jack Murray or 'Gelignite' Jack, was an Australian racing driver and sportsman, most remembered for his participation in the REDEX Round Australia Reliability Trials in the 1950s.
The 1970 Round Australia Trial, officially the Ampol Trial was the eleventh running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 24 June and 5 July 1970. The event covered 10,200 kilometres around Australia. It was jointly won by Jean-Claude Ogier and Lucette Ogier, driving a Citroën DS 21 & Edgar Herrmann and Hans Schüller, driving a Datsun 1600 SSS.
The 1964 Round Australia Trial, officially the Ampol Trial was the tenth running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 14 and 28 June 1964. The event covered 11,260 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Harry Firth and Graham Hoinville, driving a Ford Cortina GT.
The 1958 Round Australia Trial, officially the Mobilgas Trial was the ninth running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 20 August and 7 September 1958. The event covered 16,250 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Eddie Perkins and Arthur Smith, driving a Volkswagen 1200.
The 1958 Round Australia Trial, officially the Ampol Trial was the eighth running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 18 May and 1 June 1958. The event covered 12,070 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Don Garard and Jim Roberts, driving a Holden FE.
The 1956 Round Australia Trial, officially the Ampol Trial was the fourth running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 15 and 29 July 1956. The event covered 10,460 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Wilfred Murrell and Allan Taylor, driving a Peugeot 403.
The 1956 Round Australia Trial, officially the Mobilgas Trial was the fifth running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 4 and 19 August 1956. The event covered 13,680 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Eddie Perkins and Lance Perkins, driving a Volkswagen 1200.
The 1955 Round Australia Trial, officially the Redex Trial, was the third running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 21 August and 11 September 1955. The event covered 16,900 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Laurie Whitehead and Bob Foreman, driving a Volkswagen 1200.
The 1954 Round Australia Trial, officially the Redex Trial was the second running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 3 and 20 July 1954 over 9,600 miles (15,400 km), and had a first prize of £2,000. The route was truly "round (mainland) Australia", beginning in Sydney on 3 July 1954, passing through Brisbane, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Mount Isa, Darwin, Broome, Meekatharra, Madura, Adelaide and Melbourne, finishing at Moore Park on 20 July.
The 1953 Round Australia Trial, officially the Redex Trial was the inaugural running of the Round Australia Trial. The rally took place between 30 August and 13 September 1953. The event covered 10,460 kilometres around Australia. It was won by Ken Tubman and John Marshall, driving a Peugeot 203.
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