A great in terms of driver and engineering terms, Larry Perkins made a long lasting impression on Australian motorsport and this has been celebrated with an exhibition.
At Bathurst, this may have been viewed in the National Motor Racing Museum where an array of cars representing key milestones in Perkins’ career are on display.
A long-time supporter of Holden, but there are some obscure exhibits featured among the array of Commodores such as the Ford Mustang Perkins shared with legend Dick Johnson in 1985, the first year of Group A.
The other intriguing vehicle displayed is the Volkswagen Beetle shared by he and brother Garry in the 1979 Repco Round Australia Trial, before Perkins backed up by competing in the 1985 Wynns Rally often embarrassing the factory teams.
Commodores ranging from the last of Group C right through to Project Blueprint are on display highlighted by the 1984 Bathurst winning VK ‘Big Banger’, which Perkins played an integral part in building as team manager of the Holden Dealer Team.
Also featured is an early Holden Motorsport VL Group A SS painted in the initial red, white and black colours used in 1988. Shared with Denny Hulme at Bathurst 1988, Perkins was running strongly until it retired in controversial circumstances. Not many VLs are painted in this smart, original livery where Perkins represented the Holden marque in the touring car championship.
The rest of the fleet has a distinctive Castrol flavour to it, with both his 1995 and 1997 Commodores, plus the VY, which was his last ever Bathurst 1000 entry display the significant changes in such a short time. Also featured within the three Commodores in the famous Perkins ‘Tower of Power’.
Both the Volkswagen and the 2003 VY Commodore were restored with the help of son Jack in his Melbourne workshop where there are a couple more gems to come out soon.
Displayed on the walls and within the exhibition is memorabilia retained by Perkins from his racing days, including his driving suit from the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hour when he drove within the TWR Jaguar team.
If you can’t get enough of Bathurst after the recent six-day extravaganza, then why not check out the Perkins exhibit at the National Motor Racing Museum.