09-09-2006, 11:45 AM
Not a good week for Australia, First steve Irwin and now Peter Brock.
One of the Australian racing scene greats.
RIP Peter Brock
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20375524-2,00.html
ORGANISERS of the Targa West rally have decided to complete the remaining stages of the event, after drivers yesterday observed a minute's silence in honour of racing legend Peter Brock.
"Following consultation with all relevant authorities, competitors, officials and CAMS the event will continue for the remaining two days of competition," said a message on the race website.
Brock, 61, lost control of his Daytona Coupe in wet conditions only hours after the start of the three-day Targa rally near Perth yesterday, slamming side-on into a tree.
The nine-time Bathurst winner died at the scene. Rescue workers say it took them four hours to free his body from the twisted wreckage of his vehicle.
His navigator Mick Hone was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition. He had been heard to plead "talk to me" to Brock after the crash, before being told the racing icon was dead.
Les Andrews, who was first on the scene, said Brock was still holding the wheel when he reached the car and Hone was calling out to Brock to answer him.
"Eventually, after he kept on asking about Peter, I had to tell him his friend had passed away. I just stroked his shoulder and waited with him."
Hone's injuries are "not life-threatening", police said. He had been due to be transferred to a hospital in Perth.
Overnight, the rally's chaplain presided over a one-minute silence of drivers and subdued spectators, who also gathered in central Perth to pay tribute to one of the sport's heroes.
It was unclear if day two of the event would proceed today.
Fellow drivers - including **** Johnson, who shared in a tremendous on-track rivalry with Brock during the 1980s - and fans expressed their shock at the death.
Brock's girlfriend has said she is in disbelief, while his ex-wife has said the news has left "a hole in my heart".
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has offered a state funeral. Prime Minister John Howard said Brock would be "sadly missed".
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) said it would conduct a full investigation into the incident.
TV footage showed Brock's badly damaged car at the base of a tree beside a road in bushland, a blue tarpaulin covering the windscreen.
The car was towed from the scene late yesterday afternoon and will be taken to a secure holding area in Perth.
Peaceful
Mr Andrews said he opened the driver's side door of Brock's car and was shocked.
"It wasn't a very nice thing ... you are looking at your idol and the idol is looking at you in a peaceful way," Mr Andrews said.
"You just feel so helpless."
Eyewitnesses said Brock appeared to lose control of his vehicle on a tight hairpin bend before slamming into a tree.
"The back end just slid out and that was it, it was all over," a spectator identified only as Jock said on Macquarie Radio.
"The car didn't roll, the back end just slid out from behind him and slammed straight into a tree and it got him right in the driver's door."
Choking back tears, Jock said he believed Brock would have died within "maybe two minutes of impact" and that "not a thing" could have been done to save him.
"The car is a complete write-off," he said.
"I didn't realise who it was at first, then I realised who it was and I was just heartbroken."
Another witness, Tony Varass, said the corner where the crash occurred was "dangerous" and had claimed lives before.
"I was there within a minute and I really didn't give him any hope at all."
Safety
Brock's body has been taken to the State Mortuary in Perth where a post-mortem examination would be conducted, said police media officer Ros Weatherall.
CAMS president Colin Osborne said Brock was pedantic about safety.
"Peter was not a person who was cavalier about safety, quite the contrary.
"Peter certainly set a real example in that regard for fellow competitors, he wasn't a person who was in any way cavalier."
Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker said he doubted the crash would have been caused by driver error.
"I think you'll find that there must have been a mechanical failure," he said on Sky News.
But police said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Peter Perfect
Targa West is a tarmac special stage rally.
Brock was a dominant figure in Australian motor sport, winning the Bathurst 1000, Australia's most prominent domestic motorsport event, a total of nine times through the 1970s and 80s.
He won six Bathurst 1000 wins in seven years, including his victory in the 1979 event, which he won by a record six laps. He retired from full-time driving in 1997.
Known as "Peter Perfect" and the "King of the Mountain", Brock retired from full-time racing in 1997 but returned to Bathurst to win the 24-hour race in 2003.
- with AAP
One of the Australian racing scene greats.
RIP Peter Brock
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20375524-2,00.html
ORGANISERS of the Targa West rally have decided to complete the remaining stages of the event, after drivers yesterday observed a minute's silence in honour of racing legend Peter Brock.
"Following consultation with all relevant authorities, competitors, officials and CAMS the event will continue for the remaining two days of competition," said a message on the race website.
Brock, 61, lost control of his Daytona Coupe in wet conditions only hours after the start of the three-day Targa rally near Perth yesterday, slamming side-on into a tree.
The nine-time Bathurst winner died at the scene. Rescue workers say it took them four hours to free his body from the twisted wreckage of his vehicle.
His navigator Mick Hone was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition. He had been heard to plead "talk to me" to Brock after the crash, before being told the racing icon was dead.
Les Andrews, who was first on the scene, said Brock was still holding the wheel when he reached the car and Hone was calling out to Brock to answer him.
"Eventually, after he kept on asking about Peter, I had to tell him his friend had passed away. I just stroked his shoulder and waited with him."
Hone's injuries are "not life-threatening", police said. He had been due to be transferred to a hospital in Perth.
Overnight, the rally's chaplain presided over a one-minute silence of drivers and subdued spectators, who also gathered in central Perth to pay tribute to one of the sport's heroes.
It was unclear if day two of the event would proceed today.
Fellow drivers - including **** Johnson, who shared in a tremendous on-track rivalry with Brock during the 1980s - and fans expressed their shock at the death.
Brock's girlfriend has said she is in disbelief, while his ex-wife has said the news has left "a hole in my heart".
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has offered a state funeral. Prime Minister John Howard said Brock would be "sadly missed".
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) said it would conduct a full investigation into the incident.
TV footage showed Brock's badly damaged car at the base of a tree beside a road in bushland, a blue tarpaulin covering the windscreen.
The car was towed from the scene late yesterday afternoon and will be taken to a secure holding area in Perth.
Peaceful
Mr Andrews said he opened the driver's side door of Brock's car and was shocked.
"It wasn't a very nice thing ... you are looking at your idol and the idol is looking at you in a peaceful way," Mr Andrews said.
"You just feel so helpless."
Eyewitnesses said Brock appeared to lose control of his vehicle on a tight hairpin bend before slamming into a tree.
"The back end just slid out and that was it, it was all over," a spectator identified only as Jock said on Macquarie Radio.
"The car didn't roll, the back end just slid out from behind him and slammed straight into a tree and it got him right in the driver's door."
Choking back tears, Jock said he believed Brock would have died within "maybe two minutes of impact" and that "not a thing" could have been done to save him.
"The car is a complete write-off," he said.
"I didn't realise who it was at first, then I realised who it was and I was just heartbroken."
Another witness, Tony Varass, said the corner where the crash occurred was "dangerous" and had claimed lives before.
"I was there within a minute and I really didn't give him any hope at all."
Safety
Brock's body has been taken to the State Mortuary in Perth where a post-mortem examination would be conducted, said police media officer Ros Weatherall.
CAMS president Colin Osborne said Brock was pedantic about safety.
"Peter was not a person who was cavalier about safety, quite the contrary.
"Peter certainly set a real example in that regard for fellow competitors, he wasn't a person who was in any way cavalier."
Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker said he doubted the crash would have been caused by driver error.
"I think you'll find that there must have been a mechanical failure," he said on Sky News.
But police said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Peter Perfect
Targa West is a tarmac special stage rally.
Brock was a dominant figure in Australian motor sport, winning the Bathurst 1000, Australia's most prominent domestic motorsport event, a total of nine times through the 1970s and 80s.
He won six Bathurst 1000 wins in seven years, including his victory in the 1979 event, which he won by a record six laps. He retired from full-time driving in 1997.
Known as "Peter Perfect" and the "King of the Mountain", Brock retired from full-time racing in 1997 but returned to Bathurst to win the 24-hour race in 2003.
- with AAP
