People you meet along the way - Ep 15 - Peter Brock 1979

Peter Brock shares key moments from his racing career, including lap records and race victories. He emphasizes the significance of car performance and the joy of racing. Teamwork is crucial, prioritizing collective success. Looking forward, Brock seeks new challenges, particularly in developing the Commodore for upcoming races. He discusses strategies for achieving lap records, highlighting his competitive nature and focus on speed and reliability.

Transcript

1:09

Among the people you meet along the way, one of them motor racing giant, Peter Brock, Peter, perfect. The man who set the lap record at Bathurst on the last lap of the 1979 roast to record his seventh win. Uh, bit worn out, but, uh, pretty good, really. Um, actually I had think I had a fairly easy day of it. Uh, I didn't have to nurse any problems with the car. It, uh, went along all according to plan. In fact, you, I suppose halfway through I thought to myself, maybe something is gonna go wrong here. And I thought I could hear some noises or smells some smoke or something. Then around about the last 30 or 40 laps, this thing's not gonna stop. It's just gonna keep on going all day. And uh, I just sat back and relaxed and enjoyed myself driving it. And I finished the race, you know, pretty fit really well. The Ford seemed to have had their fair share of bad luck that's run, took out the first seven positions and, uh, you also took out the, the award, if there is such a one for the first man ever to complete a Harley from start to finish. You led the field all the way, Is that right? I know that, uh, it's interesting about you say Tara's the first seven positions, so that's terrific. You know, we're pretty happy about that, but, uh, uh, we are more interested in if our team wins, you see. And, uh, team, we had a bit of drama on the weekend, but, uh, let's face it, we got, uh, we got pole position led the race start to finish. Unfortunately, we lost a car during the way, so I guess it made up for, uh, you know, Ronnie Har having a prank. Really. I think John, she and the boys would be pretty happy after today's performance really. I think we really, I think he really showed them that he knows how to put a car together and, uh, to get out there and sustain that sort of speed all day was pretty fantastic. I reckon You've done about everything you can do. You've won around Australia, the hang 10 come batter. Where do you go from here? I don't know. It's becoming a little bit of a problem This year really has been very, very kind to me. Uh, the three events that I've set my heart in to really, uh, succeed in. I have, and I dunno, I just suppose you, you then start looking around for the next challenge at the moment. I'd certainly like to have a short break from racing and perhaps, uh, get away in the sunshine somewhere and do a little bit of fishing and just relax. I haven't really relaxed since the beginning of the Repco trial and uh, I think the last two, three months have been probably the most hectic, uh, of my driving career. Well, Brock, Last night you said you were going to sleep and relax for the race. What are you gonna do tonight? I just might slide a few tins into the head actually. Does this make up for Colling? We're getting done, Actually. I was just saying out there before, but I thought now we're up here and, uh, in New South and not a lot of people that understand about this, but, uh, Tommy ey, uh, he'd be feeling pretty bad to coach a Collingwood. I watched it yesterday afternoon, not too happy. Now I thought, well, most avenge for Collingwood's loaners and, uh, try and get some scores on the board. What's happening with the Holden dealer team next year and what are you actually gonna run for next year's touring car championship? Well, I, I believe we will not be running the Torontos again after the end of this year and we will have Commodore on the track. And right now I would say it's a matter of getting it back. Uh, we'll all have a little bit of a break, get back there, develop the Commodore and so that it's due for racing in the touring car series next year, or at least for the manufacturers next year. That to me is our next goal. Um, I'm very interested in getting a commodore going. I'm sure that it's the saying that there's the crowds and the spec, you know, the people and the media. Everyone's interested in seeing what a Commodore will do. And that's, uh, that's next in line. Is the Commodore gonna be as good as an A nine next? Oh, it'll be Better without doubt. It's got a lot of things going for it's more aerodynamic, better suspension travel, got a five link rear end instead of a four link rear end. And those three basic ingredients are three of the one things that, uh, uh, to run a lax. Yeah, and there're three things that, uh, are gonna make that car go quicker than ever, Andy. I mean that it'll do a hundred mile an hour next year. I'm sure that Peter share travel again this year. Do you think we could see him in something other than the falcon next time? No, no. I think you'll see him in a Ford. In fact, I, I, well, I hope very much we see a than a Ford. Uh, he's had his troubles, but then again, he put up a pretty good show today I thought. And, uh, he certainly lasted a lot longer than what I, most of us would've given him credit for. I thought he was good for 20 or 30 laps and there he was and would've been, he must've been lap 110, 120 or something. And I finally saw him pull up, up the back up there. And, uh, I think that's a pretty good effort. Well, of Courts to that further, well, actually Johnny Goss finished first, uh, well finished, got across the line, not first. He finished today and that's the first time, I think in six races for John, actually. Six years. Yeah, something like that. Anyway, pretty Right. Yeah. But, um, what do you think the XD is gonna do against the Commodore? Oh, the XD will be a Butte car because it's, it's, uh, lighter and it's modern. It'll capture the public's imagination and, uh, when you start from scratch, from Allegating a new car, you learn from the mistakes you made for the last one. And, uh, I'm sure that it's going be a ripper motor car and I'm looking forward to renewed clashes between Commodore and XP falcons. And, uh, uh, the only thing is, are the front mud guards and blah, blah, blah, strong enough to take the busy that's gonna go on when we all get into these new cars. Peter, were there any problems in, uh, preparation at all with the car? No, none at all. Absolutely. Um, you know, a lot of times, uh, drivers will tell you all sorts of yarns that, uh, uh, mask problems, but quite honestly, I, I think I finished off that race then, and I, I better as the lap record, the last lap there blacked in the bottom here every two minutes, 20.3. Uh, I think I did a 21 1, so, uh, you know, it just shows you how quick she was going. Did you mean to lift the wheel through the, uh, the s up there on the last lap? We noticed the wheel go pretty high in the Story. Oh, yeah, yeah. Well that, you know, I was just going for the lap record. You can't do the lap record without getting on two wheels here and there. The lap record on The last lap of the road. That's right. Yeah. When did you decide To try it? Uh, I just came out the main straight here and I thought last lap. And she, I was expecting two lefts to go and he hang out. The last lapboard I said, I said, I asked Lap, I said, I think I'll hook into it a bit here on the radio. And uh, I did. I just thought it's running beautifully. All I had to do was just sort of break a little bit later, you know, just try a wee bit harder here and there. It was easy. You'd already taken a lap record early on in the race. I'd gone lap four. Well, you got you at, uh, 2 21 0.4. Well, I didn't know if that lap record stood, so I thought, well, I'll make sure of it this time. I don't want Moffitt claiming that he did this and did that. And also, I reckon it's pretty good if you can send a lap record on a lap 163 at Bathurst. It rubs in the point that the car is superior, doesn't It? Well, it's, well, the main thing is it stops in his speculation that you are nursing a broken motor car, which a lot of times people do and it, it answers it perfectly. You can say, well there you are. The car couldn't have been too bad because it did that sort of speed at the low. As a matter of fact, it pulls 6,850 revs down the street and I would love to know just what that works out a miles per hour. But it was gotta be a hundred sixty four, a hundred sixty six miles an hour at least Having come through the hardy Ferrato with the, the car in this sort of condition, would you now like to go back and have another crack at Lamo? Oh yeah. Yes. Uh, east African Safari followed by Lamo, uh, and Spa 24 hours. I think we could have do a nice little round trip there actually in a Toronto. Well, no, I think, I think Commodore, forget the, As always. There's more to come in, Peter.