Peter Brock - Dead at 61 · 9 September 2006
This afternoon the news came through that yet another great Australian had tragically been killed doing what he was best at. Peter Brock was racing here in Western Australia when he came to a sharp bend in the road and his car hit a tree – killing him almost instantly; he died with his hands still gripping the wheel.
This has been such a devastating week for Australia – on Monday we lost one of our greatest Australian’s; Steve Irwin – and within 4 days we lost the greatest racing legend in the country.
What is so staggering is that they both died doing exactly what it was that made them so well renowned. Steve Irwin was synonymous with wild animals and was famous for the fact that he could them so well, and he was killed by a Stingray.
Mention motor racing to anyone in Australia, and Peter Brock would inevitably be the very first name that jumps to mind.
A couple of years ago I was invited to the Perth leg of the V8 Supercars at the Konica Minolta corporate tent. I left the tent to go for a walk with my good friend and his brother in law and mostly looked at the ground as I walked as I’m not that big into motor racing. I walked down the ramp to where hundreds of people were walking around and looked up to see none other than the man himself, walking sneakily among the crowd trying not to get noticed. He looked me straight in the eye and smiled as if to say “shhh – don’t say anything”. I very casually and quietly said “GDay, Brockie” to which he replied “Cheers, mate”. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t tell my friend or his brother in law, Rob who I’d just walked past despite their huge fanaticism for the guy.
Sure enough, someone else spotted him and said – “Hey everybody, it’s Brockie!” and from there the masses of people began flocking to him as he picked up his walking pace trying to get to the private area. My friends immediately turned and bolted for him, asking him to sign something, which he graciously did without question before dashing back up the ramp and out of sight.
Click here to watch his last filmed interview, talking about his pending attempt at winning at Bathurst for the 10th time. We’ll never know if he would have done it.
It’s such a shame to see someone so well known and more importantly, well-liked die so suddenly. I was listening to the 96FM breakfast show on the radio this morning where they were interviewing Brock just before the race. 96FM were sponsoring the “targa west rally” so it was a part of the deal that they got to interview the racing great before he jumped in the car. As it turns out it was the last interview he ever did.
A minute’s silence was observed tonight on the corner of James and William streets in Northbridge in Brockie’s honour. He’ll be sorely missed around the racing tracks of Australia.
I’ll briefly add a small epilogue; the media coverage has once again saturated this event, though once again the advertisers have been among the first to get their grubby little hands on the story too. This one’s almost as bad as the Steve Irwin life insurance ad on CNN. Click the image below to enlarge…
