MOTORSPORT: Larry Perkins waves chequered flag

Although he never won a touring car title and barely a championship race, Perkins was victorious in the Bathurst 1000 six times – initially with the Holden Dealer Team and Peter Brock and later with his own team and Gregg Hansford and Russell Ingall as his co-drivers.

The feisty Perkins has scaled back his activities in recent years but retained two V8 Supercar car licences – or what officially are called racing entitlement contracts (RECs) – even though they have been used by the Kelly Brothers team.

Today’s announcement of the end of Perkins’ career coincides with the transfer of those licences to the Kellys as part of them converting to Nissan Motorsport and preparing to field four Altima L33s in the championship starting in Adelaide on the first weekend of March.

Perkins’ exit from active involvement in motorsport coincides with news that the man who has steered the new direction of the Australian Rally Championship the past two years, Scott Pedder, will return to competition this season. More on that a little later.

Perkins’ retirement means the closure of the Perkins Engineering workshop – or what he called “the shed” – at Melbourne’s Moorabbin Airport where he was at one time the most prolific builder of touring cars in Australia – all of them Holdens, although there were times that Perkins entertained ideas of also constructing Ford Falcons.

“After 43 years of racing and 26 years of Perkins Engineering, it is with tremendous satisfaction and pride that I can now announce that I have sold my two V8 Supercars RECs to Kelly Racing,” Perkins said.

“I started the business with my wife, Raelene, in 1985. We started with one full-time employee, no race cars, no engines and no money or sponsors. Over time we built a steady, successful race team, with complete emphasis on sound engineering and competitive machinery, which allowed us to build up a very strong customer base.

“From 1985 to 2012, Perkins Engineering built 49 (touring cars and) V8 Supercars, 198 race engines, won three Bathursts, three Sandown/Queensland 500s, over 20 race wins, and three pole positions, plus we supplied and maintained the engines for seven-consecutive Formula Holden (Brabham) Gold Star titles. The business grew respect and recognition in the Australian motor racing industry, and at times employed in excess of 50 people. We were also extremely proud to represent the many sponsors and supporters that chose to be with our team.

“I also enjoyed tremendous on-track success with many drivers and co-drivers, including the late Denny Hulme, Peter Brock and Gregg Hansford, and also Russell Ingall, Steven Richards and Todd Kelly, to name a few. None of this success would have been possible without the huge efforts, loyalty, commitment and dedication of the people that were Perkins Engineering. I fought many battles on the track, in the boardroom and in the stewards’ room, however I can proudly say that I feel I contributed my part to the huge success of V8 Supercars.

“I would like to acknowledge and thank the new-generation racers [at] Kelly Racing. They have a vision and the passion to succeed whilst setting up one of Australia’s finest race teams, and they have been great business partners. I congratulate them on their successes and wish them the very best with their future endeavours with Nissan in V8 Supercars.

“The next chapter for me will bring some much-earned time with family [that includes son Jack, an endurance co-driver with Garry Rogers Motorsport]. I’ll also enjoy exploring more of Australia in my new ‘Unimogs’ and perhaps a few trips overseas. Motor Racing was my life and is still a passion and I’ll continue to watch Jack, V8s and F1 with great interest.”

Jack Perkins has organised an auction of Perkins memorabilia on eBay.

But this year Pedder will return to the driver’s seat with a two-car team.

Although the brand of car hasn’t been announced RallySport Magazine – an electronic publication at rallysportmag.com.au – reports that they will be Renault Clios.

Pedder – a member of the family that operates the Pedders Suspension business – will remain the ARC’s commercial director but the bulk of the management of the series will be handled  by David Catchpole, the new event manager at Australia’s world championship round Rally Australia, assisted by former volunteer secretary Katie Philps as commercial partnerships manager.

“I believe that we are at the cusp of a very special era for the ARC, and as much as I enjoy helping to shape the future of our great championship I want to be part of it from a competition perspective,” Pedder said. “We will have the team, car and support to win, no question - the unknown factor is how quickly I can adapt to a very different type of car.

“We will do a lot of testing ahead of the first round, the National Capital Rally in Canberra (on the first weekend of March, clashing with Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar event).

“I have some unfinished business to take care of. I have put my heart and soul into the re-emergence of the ARC over the past two years and have been supported by a lot of people that have put their faith in me and the changes and direction that we had to make.

“There is no way I am walking away from assisting in the continued growth of the ARC, however I am very conscious that I have to manage the conflicts of interest that do and will exist as both an administrator and competitor. I am confident that we have the right strategy and the right people to manage this appropriately and to continue the growth of the ARC into the future.”

Australia’s most promising young rally talent Brendan Reeves will compete full-time in the ARC this season after two years in the World Rally Championship Academy for rising stars from around the world – and in which he was a regular podium finisher.

Victorian Reeves and his co-driver sister Rhianon Smyth, will compete in the Mazda2 driven by multiple national champion Simon Evans in the second half of last season. The RallySchool Mazda has a 2-litre engine and six-speed Hollinger sequential gearbox.

“Rhianon and I have been working closely with RallySchool for the last five years as instructors and to now be able to compete in the recently-formed rally team is great,” Reeves said.

The WRC Academy champion, Welshman Elfyn Evans, will compete in Canberra in one of Innate Motorsport’s Ford Fiesta R2s.

Ambrose is in a Riley-Ford for Michael Shank Racing that won the 24-hour last year after a brilliant final stint by A.J. Allmendinger, who later returned a positive drug test during NASCAR’s Sprint Cup season and lost his drive with Penske Racing, which won that title with Brad Keselowski.

Having been through NASCAR’s rehabilitation program and driven two Cup races late last season, Allmendinger is one of Ambrose’s four co-drivers this weekend. The others are British IndyCar and ex-F1 racer Justin Wilson and GrandAm stalwarts John Pew and Ozz Negri.

American Scott Pruett has landed the pole position for Chip Ganassi Racing in a Riley-BMW ahead of New Zealand teammate Scott Dixon, while Ambrose’s car will start sixth.

The field for the 51st running of the Daytona 24-Hour includes 16 drivers with F1 experience, including Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella.

“It gives us an opportunity to ‘play’ with some of the American stars from NASCAR and IndyCar, along with many of the names we grew up with in other categories,” said Scotsman Allan McNish, usually an Audi driver but sharing a Riley-Ford this weekend at one of the major endurance races he hasn’t won.

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