Holden VH Commodore 1983 Bathurst

The James Hardie 1000 race was held on October 2, 1983 at the Mount Panorama, Bathurst circuit. It was a mixture of marques and two classes, over and under 3 litres. Allan Moffat headed 14 Mazda RX7s, 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 Holden Dealer Team (HDT) entry 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 lap, 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 securing pole position with a lap time of 2m16.270s.
When the big race got underway on Sunday, Peter Brock made his usual good start and led the field of 58 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 3 the #05 car had a five second lead. Brock was making it look so easy - at least until the end of lap 8, when a huge puff of smoke appeared at the end of Conrod Straight. The Commodore turned into pit lane and limped slowly towards the pit box.
A bent valve in the engine had ended 05’s race. But unlike Sandown, when he had illegally hopped into the second car, Brock had a plan.
On lap 20 Harvey headed for the pits and was replaced by Peter rather than his brother Phil Brock. Brock’s move resulted in great controversy. The general
public could not grasp how he could be allowed to step from one car to another. There was no doubting the legality of the move, which Allan Moffat had already pioneered in the 1980 race. The episode left a bad taste in the mouth for more than just the general public, even Harvey was not all that impressed.
Brock got back on the track in fifth place. As the race progressed it took its toll with many of the cars pitting with mechanical problems. After 40 laps the
attrition left Moffat in the lead, but it wouldn’t last long. Brock was steadily gaining ground and by lap 47 he passed Moffat as he headed into the pits for a driver change. By lap 50, Brock had handed over the car to Perkins who re-entered the race in #25 with a commanding 90 second lead. The lead was never lost. By lap 120, Brock put a whole lap on Moffat. On lap 130 Brock peeled off from his dice with Moffat to make his final stop for fuel and tyres. Brock finished the race one lap and 18.1 seconds ahead of Allan Moffat and Yoshimi Katayama in the Mazda RX-7. 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 with the #05 car, the preparation and pitwork for the second #25 car was 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.