Holden VR Commodore 1995 Bathurst Winner

1995 was the first time in history that The Great Race was run for just two marques, Ford and Holden. It was the Ford EF Falcons that dominated the 1995 season and also stamped an impressive 1-2-3-4 win at the Sandown 500 in the lead up to Bathurst. The Perkins VR Commodore modelled here in the Classic Carlectables Bathurst Collection, was built new for the 1995 Endurance races and was first of the Holden’s home at Sandown, finishing fifth.
The Perkins engineered Commodore was the only car on the mountain to run cross-drilled discs which were to aid brake cooling and increase the bite to the brake pads. It is also known that drilled discs increase the wear on brake pads and require them to be changed in endurance races. Larry Perkins had the faith in his equipment and had the pre-race strategy to run the same brake pads for the entire race and avoid costly lost time in the pits, also avoiding the potential for any costly foul-ups.
Larry Perkins was the fastest qualifier before the Top Ten Shootout. But in the shootout he could only manage 3rd fastest, in part due to Peter Brock crashing his Commodore into The Cutting wall on his hot lap which resulted in the shootout being postponed to clean up the mess. By the time the shootout resumed, Larry Perkins tyres were cold and it was impossible to match the earlier times of Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes who had run on warm tyres.
The start of the race turned out to be extremely significant as Perkins tried to squeeze alongside pole sitter Lowndes on the run to Hell Corner. The resulting contact sent Perkins to the pits with a deflated tyre. Larry Perkins was fortunate to return on the same lap as the leaders. Co-driver Russell Ingall was quoted “Give it death” as Perkins tore out of the pits.
On lap 38 Richards pitted the lead car to hand over to Skaife who then hit the track straight in front of Ingall. The Perkins/Ingall car was now a lap down. They would need a lot of luck to win from here. On lap 65 Skaife coasted into the pits with a broken tailshaft. The Skaife/Richards car had looked so dominant early but now their race was over. Both HRT cars were out before half distance – the worst ever Great Race result for a factory Holden Team.

Item includes certificate and production number plate, mounted to the chassis.