Holden VH Commodore 1983 Bathurst Winner

The 1983 Bathurst Race was a mixture of marques and two classes, over and under 3-litres. Allan Moffat headed 14 Mazda RX7’s, there was Dick Johnson amongst the 10 Ford Falcons, Nissan Bluebirds, BMWs and many more. Of the 18 Holden Commodores, Peter Brock and Larry Perkins in the #05 HDT stood out, while the second #25 HDT car had John Harvey and Phil Brock (Peter’s brother) filling the seats.
In practice on Thursday, the #05 Commodore with Peter Brock at the wheel had clocked a 2m15.87s, throwing down the gauntlet. Friday was going to be a big day and at the end, four different makes had the top four places, with Brock leading Johnson in a Ford. Saturday’s Hardie’s Heroes was a year many will not forget. Dick Johnson was driving well in his big green Falcon, when he crashed at Forrest's Elbow, in a monumental bingle into the trees that destroyed his car and could have killed him. His Falcon was rebuilt overnight using a donor car, just making the start on Sunday.
The Great Race had Peter Brock making his usual good start from pole, leading the field up Mountain Straight. At the end of the second lap it was Brock leading with Harvey in the second HDT car close behind. By lap three the #05 car had a five second lead. Brock made it look so easy – at least until the end of lap eight, when a huge puff of smoke appeared at the end of Conrod. The Commodore limped in with a bent valve in the engine, ending the 05’s race.
But Peter Brock had a contingency plan. On lap 20, John Harvey in the second HDT #25 car headed for the pits to be replaced by Peter, rather than Phil Brock. Brock’s move resulted in a commotion. The general public could not grasp how he could be allowed to step from one car to another, but Brock’s move at that time, was legal. Even with bad feeling amongst the race fans, other teams and others inside motor sport; Peter Brock re-entered the race in fifth place. By lap 48 Brock had regained the lead in the #25 car.
When Peter eventually gave Larry a drive in car #25, the lead was never lost. Then by lap 100, there was not much life left in the race. Peter Brock was now in the car and safely in front of Allan Moffat and the rest of the field.
By mid-afternoon Brock lapped Moffat, the two staying together on the road for quite a long time. At the 130 lap mark the #25 car peeled off for Brock’s final 30-second stop for fuel and tyres. Perkins was set to go, but Peter Brock remained in the car, setting out to nail Moffat, who still had one stop to make. By lap 140 that stop eventuated and the race result was all but over. The #25 car was never challenged and led for the remainder of the race.
In great controversy Peter Brock had won his seventh Bathurst with a time of 6h28m31.6s, with co-driver Larry Perkins and John Harvey who was also credited.
The Holden Dealer Team had recovered well from its early shock, the preparation and pitwork for the second #25 car being faultless. Peter Brock, with a little help from his friends and the regulations had taken the win in the 1983 James Hardie Bathurst 1000 race.

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