How far could Brockie have gone?

[Vanwall]

Evening all. First posting. Not being a fan of taxi racing here in Australia, I've long wondered how far Peter Brock might have gone had he as a young man set his sights on Formula One. My instincts tell me he was very very good indeed and that he might well have been at the sharp end of F1 fields through the seventies had he sought success in that formula.

I have to confess I'm particularly hoping to attract a response from Ray Bell, whose insights I have been missing from "another place" these last few weeks.

Vanwall.

[Ray Bell]

Obviously it's hard to say. His time in the Birrana was brief, but it was dotted with some minor successes.

He was very keen on F1 in the years leading up to his commencing racing, but I really think he got caught in the rut and couldn't get out of it.

This question will remain a mystery, I'm afraid, but I think he might have done well had he made the move about 1972.

[fines]

So he did race single-seaters? Never knew that...

Tell us, how did he do? Only AF2, or also F5000? What were his results, against whom did he race? Christ, he would've been old enough to do the Tasman Formula!

__________________
Michael Ferner

[Ray Bell]

Yes, he bought the first Birrana in his early days with the HDT, but it fell in a heap because of sponsor conflicts. His father, Geoff, prepared the car all by himself, Leo Geoghegan borrowed it once to win an ANF 2 round (Hume Weir?), Peter drove it at Winton (4 wins from 4 starts, little opposition), Calder for another win (beat Ken Hastings and Alf Costanzo in an old Elfin mono), then came two wins at Oran Park ahead of Ray Winter and Wolfgang Prejawa, two more unopposed wins at Hume Weir and a fourth at Calder behind Stewart, Cook and Stillwell when he couldn't get the right tyres.

All of that took place in just over two months, then the series started, Leo borrowed the car to win as mentioned, then at Oran Park in August he filed in second behind Leo and at Amaroo a lowly seventh after a plug lead gave trouble. The car was then sold to Bernie Zampatti in Perth.

I see a note here that I made in 1979... Brian Sampson believed he showed in the Birrana that he could have excelled in open wheelers.

As for the Tasman, Peter being stuck in the Army from 1966 to 1968 kind of thwarted his plans to go racing earlier, though he said that being in the army gave him the chance to sort himself out and organise his racing properly before he started. In other words, he may not have done as well if he hadn't beed drafted. He spent that time driving backwards and forwards between Wagga and Melbourne listening to the radio for news of Jack's World title campaigns. This is the era in which I met him.

These were the halcyon Tasman days, he was tied up and then just a beginner, a new kid on the block, when the real Tasman ended. There were several rumours of him getting into F5000 later, but none eventuated (but read on...).

Also, what he told me for his bio in 1978/79 might be instructive:

"In retrospect, I think I was overawed by the car and what it was. For instance, I felt the steering was too direct for me, but because it was a factory racing car and it was what everyone else was winning with it had to be right as it was.
Later on, when I was in England (1976 or so), I had a day at Brands Hatch testing with Brian McGuire. During that day I really learned there is no difference between Touring Cars and Racing Cars. They are all cars, and what affects one affects the other. Because of that, I believe that I should have changed the steering rack to suit my needs."

Any more?

[Ray Bell]

Here's a picture of Brock in the Birrana 272, March 11, 1972 at Winton:

[DAVID PATERSON]

Nowadays you'd say he was too old, he had his first race at the age of 22! But, then you didn't have to go straight from the high chair to a go kart. He could never find the money to run the open wheelers and so didn't have a chance. Who knows what might have been?