Perkins to hang up the helmet...eventually
13/6/2002 23:49 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Arguably Australia’s most prolific and decorated racing driver, Larry Perkins will retire at the end of the season...sort of.
The 52-year-old will remain at the helm of his Melbourne-based V8 Supercar operation beyond this year, and drive in future long distance races, but will retire from full-time racing at the season-ending Sandown Raceway meeting in December.
Still, Perkins’ announcement, revealed to Motorsport News with typically minimal fuss in Canberra over the weekend, draws to a close a remarkable three-decade-long racing career.
And it allows the bespectacled motorsport legend to take a final, public bow. Let his belated testimonial year begin.
It’s the end of an era.
Perkins is the only remaining graduate from the ‘old’ school of racing; the working-class boy from country Victoria whose talent and utilitarian approach saw him make good on the national – and international – stage.
Success in Australian open-wheeler ranks took him to Europe and the rarefied Formula One fraternity. He was given a start in 11 Grand Prix in 1976 and 1977.
But it was his achievements on the Australian touring car circuit that earned him icon status.
He’s won at Mount Panorama six times, largely in self-engineered cars. If Peter Brock was the King of Bathurst, Perkins was surely second-in-command.
The national championship has eluded him, but with a record like his it hardly seems to matter.
Perkins has said the desire to race is gone – indeed, he admits it left him long before the season began.
V8 Supercar fans will get their first taste of life without Perkins when he sits out the next round of the series at Barbagallo Raceway. He willingly sacrificed his position on the restricted 32-car grid to make room for other competitors.
In a way, it’s a symbolic gesture.
With Russell Ingall expected to depart the Castrol-sponsored team at the end of the year, Perkins must begin another arduous talent search to find a partner for Steven Richards next season.
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