A MEMORIAL on Thursday for Peter Brock remembered the man as much as the racing car champion 10 years after his death in a West Australian rally crash.
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Brock’s brothers Phil and Lewis and long-time partner Julie Bamford were among the guests at the memorial outside the National Motor Racing Museum at the foot of Mount Panorama.
Also there were plenty of motor racing fans and a cavalcade of historic Holdens bearing Brock plates, an 05 bonnet and Holden Racing Team stickers.
They recalled a larger-than-life hero who was his own man on the race track but a man of the people off it.
They remembered the racing car champion who had time for everyone, who would sign autographs until the sun went down.
Bathurst deputy mayor Ian North spoke of Brock’s contribution to Bathurst and a golden age of motor racing while Supercars chaplain Reverend Garry Coleman said Brock was a hero to many, and his death left fans questioning their own identity.
“He made such an impact on people that when he was gone, people asked: ‘What do we do now? Who do we follow? And who am I?’” Reverend Coleman said.
“Brock left such a hole in so many people’s lives, that’s the reason why he will never be forgotten. And the impact of the loss heightens the impact of the life that was lived.”
Brock’s brother Phil also remembered the fans, saying they had lost even more than the family with Brock’s passing.
“Sure there is a sadness today, but I can tell you as a family member that we are so lucky that we have had such a close affinity with Peter,” he said. “His fans are the ones who have really missed out and I will always be very upset about that.
“That’s why we’re trying to restock the museum with Peter Brock cars and trophies because it’s important to keep him out there.”
Craig Lowndes sent a video message for the memorial, saying he was proud to call Peter Brock a mentor and a friend and describing his win in the 2016 Bathurst 1000 – the first after Brock’s death – as the most satisfying win of his career.