Holden VH Commodore 1982 Bathurst Winner

The James Hardie 1000 on 3rd October, 1982, was the 23rd running of the Bathurst touring car race. Peter Brock paired up with Larry Perkins in a new Holden Dealer Team VH Commodore, the car made its debut at Sandown earlier in the year. For Bathurst the car was fitted with a television camera by the channel 7 Network technical engineers, it would beam pictures live to an international    audience. It dominated the passenger side compartment of the car but would provide a rare drives view of the race. The camera pan and tilt was controlled remotely by UHF radio signal. The picture was transmitted by microwave beam to a helicopter flying a1000ft above, the signal was then relayed to a remote tracking site, then to the control centre and finally onto a world-wide audience.  The “race cam” installation got its full-scale test during qualifying with great success. The target for pole position was 2:18 and Brock crossed the line in 2:17.836, 3 seconds under the lap record, but it was not enough to beat Allan Grice who managed to be two tenths of a second faster.  Race day - Allan Grice soon lost the lead to Brock on lap 1 but regained it again on lap 2. The intense rivalry set a fierce pace that would end with Grice spinning off the track, loosing 10 sec which allowed Brock to pass and take the lead. The hot weather, dry track and fast times took its toll, 22 cars did not finish that day! As a consequence the lead drivers took control of the race, Bartlett in the channel 9 Sports Camaro was coming 3rd but his race ended soon after with a major incident with the car coming to rest on its roof.  A pit stop by Brock saw the driving duties handed over to Perkins who then amassed a lead of just over one lap when a final pit stop for fuel and driver change would let Brock take the car cross the finish line to victory. They finished the 163 laps in just over 6 hours and 32 minutes. Peter also achieved the fastest lap in 2:20.1at an average speed of 158.60 km/h. The victory was a first for Perkins at Bathurst and Brock’s 6th victory.

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