Larry Perkins

Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950 in Murrayville, Victoria)[1] is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.

For the American politician, see Larry L. Perkins.

Larry Perkins
Nationality	Australian
Born	Larry Clifton Perkins (1950-03-18) 18 March 1950 Murrayville, Victoria
Retired	2003
Related to	Jack Perkins (son)
ATCC / V8 Supercar
Years active	1981, 1985–2003
Teams	Holden Dealer Team Perkins Engineering
Starts	160
Wins	4
Best finish	4th in 1994, 1995 & 1998 Australian Touring Car Championship
Championship titles
1975 1979 1979	European Formula Three Championship Australian Formula 5000 Championship Australian Rallycross Championship
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1974, 1976 – 1977
Teams	Amon, Boro, Brabham, BRM, Surtees
Entries	15 (11 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1974 German Grand Prix (DNQ) / 1976 Spanish Grand Prix (13th)
Last entry	1977 Belgian Grand Prix (12th) / 1977 French Grand Prix (DNQ)

Sign proclaiming Cowangie to be the "Hometown of Larry Perkins"

The 1984 Bathurst 1000 winning Holden Commodore

Biography

Early years

Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddie Perkins who had won the 1956 RedeX Round Australia Trial, developed a love for cars from a young age and loved tinkering with the farm machinery. In 1970 he was recruited as a mechanic/driver for Harry Firth's Holden Dealer Team, and although he didn't do much road racing for the team, he did race in Rallycross alongside team driver Peter Brock, and was also involved with the development of the stillborn Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 V8 project which was canned in mid-1972 by the "Supercar scare".

Racing career

After winning the TAA Formula Ford "Driver To Europe" Series in 1971 and the Australian Formula 2 Championship in 1972 (both times in an Elfin 600), Perkins travelled to Europe where he won the 1975 European Formula Three Championship. He also raced in Formula One during the 1974, 1976 and 1977 seasons. After failing to secure a permanent drive in Formula One he returned to Australia, winning the Rothmans International Series in 1979 in an Elfin MR8 for the Ansett Team Elfin factory team run by Elfin Sports Cars founder Garrie Cooper, and the 1979 Australian Rallycross Championship in a Volkswagen Beetle.[2] During 1982 and 1983 he worked with brother Garry on the construction of The Quiet Achiever solar car. He was one of the drivers of the car during the transcontinental solar crossing of Australia, the car using only a photovoltaic solar cell source.[3] During these years he met with success in Australian Touring Cars and in 1988 he returned to Europe to race at the Le Mans 24 Hour with Tom Walkinshaw Racing, finishing 4th.

After returning home from Europe, Perkins made his Bathurst 1000 debut in 1977 in a Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback where he finished third with Peter Janson. He went on to win the race six times (1982, 1983, 1984, 1993, 1995, 1997), with co-drivers Peter Brock (1982–84), John Harvey (1983) (all for the Holden Dealer Team which by then was owned by Brock with Perkins in charge of race car building and preparation), Gregg Hansford (1993) and in his last two wins in 1995 and 1997 with Russell Ingall, winning each time in an Australian developed Holden Commodore.

Arguably his most memorable win was in the 1995 Tooheys 1000 in which he dropped to last place after a pit stop at the end of the first lap to replace a flat tyre, and subsequently gained the lead with less than 10 laps remaining after the Ford Falcon of Glenn Seton retired having dropped a valve in the engine. Perkins and co-driver Russell Ingall thus became only the second driving combination in the history of the race to recover from last place to win the event. Perkins has however, never won an Australian Touring Car Championship, his best championship results being three fourth places.

Formula One

Perkins made his first appearance in Formula One at the 1974 German Grand Prix for Chris Amon Racing. With regular driver and team owner Chris Amon sidelined with sinustis after just one practice lap, Perkins took over in the AF101, failing to qualify after crashing on the second day of practice.

In 1976 he signed a deal with the works Boro team, for the team's first season. He made his first Formula One start at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing 13th before achieving a seasons best result of 8th at the following race in Belgium. He failed to qualify at Monaco and retired from the Swedish Grand Prix after blowing an engine. With the team's money drying up, Perkins only made two further appearances in a Boro, retiring from the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix, and after Boro's withdrawal, was left without a drive. He replaced Rolf Stommelen at Brabham for the final three races of the year, finishing in 17th position in Canada and retiring from the remaining two races.

For the beginning of 1977, the Australian secured a drive for Stanley BRM, the remnants of the once great BRM team. After his car failed to be delivered on time for the opening Grand Prix, he made his first appearance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, albeit 12.1 seconds off the pace and retiring after one lap. Lapped five times before finishing 15th in South Africa, Perkins lost his seat to Conny Andersson at the beginning of the European season. He had a brief stint at Surtees, finishing 12th in Belgium and failing to qualify in Sweden. At the French Grand Prix, he drove in Friday practice, but was replaced by Patrick Tambay the next day. This marked the end of Perkins' brief and unsuccessful Formula One career.

Retirement and legacy

Perkins retired from driving in 2003, aged 53 and was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2008. In addition to his racing credentials as a driver he is an accomplished automotive engineer and engine-builder having built many race cars for both his own team and for other racing teams. He is well known for his outgoing and humorous personality. His nickname is "LP", but he is often referred to as "Lightning Larry" or "Larrikin Larry". Larry is the father of V8 Supercar race winner Jack Perkins.

On 7 December 2017, the "Larry Perkins Trophy" was named in his honour. It is awarded to the driver who accumulates the most points across the four races at the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400, the Supercars event supporting the Australian Grand Prix.[4]

In 2018 Perkins and his brother Peter discovered the lost cache of equipment left behind in the Simpson Desert by explorers Henry Vere Barclay and Ronald MacPherson in 1904. The explorers had been forced to abandon the load, which included camel tanks, tools, scientific equipment and personal belongings, in order to cross sandhills to get to a water source. The Perkins' discovery was described as a "highly significant archaeological find".[5]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Position	Car	Entrant / Team
1970	Formula Ford National Series	5th	Elfin 600 Ford	B.S. Stillwell & Co.
1971	National Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	1st	Elfin 600 Ford	BS Stillwell & Co Pty Ltd
1972	Australian Drivers' Championship	11th	Elfin 600B Ford	Provincial Motors
	Australian Formula 2 Championship	1st
1975	European Formula Three Championship	1st	Ralt RT1 Ford	Team Cowangie
	British Formula 3 Championship	5th
1978	Peter Stuyvesant International Formula Pacific Series [6]	2nd	Ralt RT1 Ford	Scuderia Veloce
1978/79	Formula Pacific New Zealand International Series [7]	3rd	March 78B Ford [8]	Colin Giltrap Racing
1979	Rothmans International Series	1st	Elfin MR8 Chevrolet	Ansett Team Elfin
	Australian Rallycross Championship	1st	Volkswagen Beetle	Kruger Motors
1981	Australian Touring Car Championship	26th	Holden VC Commodore	Cadbury Schweppes Racing
1982	Better Brakes AMSCAR Series	10th	Holden VH Commodore SS	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team
	Australian Endurance Championship	14th
1983	Australian Endurance Championship	8th	Holden VH Commodore SS	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team
1984	Australian Endurance Championship	5th	Holden VK Commodore	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team
1985	Australian Touring Car Championship	38th	Holden VK Commodore	Mobil Holden Dealer Team
1986	Australian Endurance Championship	24th	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A	Enzed Team Perkins
	South Pacific Touring Car Championship	14th
1987	Australian Touring Car Championship	5th	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A	Enzed Team Perkins
1988	Australian Touring Car Championship	7th	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A	Holden Special Vehicles
	Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship	6th	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A	Holden Special Vehicles
	World Sports Prototype Championship	29th	Jaguar XJR-9	Silk Cut Jaguar
1989	Australian Touring Car Championship	17th	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	Perkins Engineering
1990	Australian Touring Car Championship	11th	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	Perkins Engineering
	Australian Endurance Championship	2nd
1991	Australian Touring Car Championship	11th	Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV	Mobil 1 Racing
1992	Australian Touring Car Championship	10th	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	Perkins Engineering
1993	Australian Touring Car Championship	12th	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV Holden VP Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
1994	Australian Touring Car Championship	4th	Holden VP Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
1995	Australian Touring Car Championship	4th	Holden VR Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
1996	Australian Touring Car Championship	5th	Holden VR Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
1997	Australian Touring Car Championship	5th	Holden VS Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
1998	Australian Touring Car Championship	4th	Holden VS Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
1999	Shell Championship Series	9th	Holden VT Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
2000	Shell Championship Series	13th	Holden VT Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
2001	Shell Championship Series	14th	Holden VX Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
2002	V8 Supercar Championship Series	18th	Holden VX Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing
2003	V8 Supercar Championship Series	36th	Holden VY Commodore	Castrol Perkins Racing

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1974	Dalton-Amon International	Amon AF101	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER DNQ	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA			NC	0
1976	HB Bewaking Alarm Systems	Boro Ensign N175	Cosworth V8	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP 13	BEL 8	MON DNQ	SWE Ret	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED Ret	ITA Ret					NC	0
	Martini Racing	Brabham BT45	Alfa Romeo Flat 12														CAN 17	USA Ret	JPN Ret
1977	Rotary Watches Stanley BRM	BRM P207	BRM V12	ARG	BRA Ret																NC	0
		BRM P201B/204				RSA 15
	Team Surtees	Surtees TS19	Cosworth V8				USW	ESP	MON	BEL 12	SWE DNQ	FRA DNQ	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Points
1984	Team Australia John Fitzpatrick Racing	Porsche 956B	MNZ	SIL 21	LMS Ret	NUR	BRA	MOS	SPA	IMO	FJI	KYL	SAN	NC	0
1988	Silk Cut Jaguar Tom Walkinshaw Racing	Jaguar XJR-9 LM	JRZ	JAR	MON	SIL	LMS 4	BRN	BRA	NUR	SPA	FJI	SAN	29th	30

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Points
1987	Enzed Team Perkins	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A	MNZ	JAR	DIJ	NUR	SPA	BNO	SIL	BAT Ret				NC	0
		Holden VL Commodore SS Group A									CLD ovr:6 cls:3	WEL ovr:11 cls:7	FJI

† Not eligible for series points

Complete Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	DC	Points
1988	Holden Special Vehicles	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	BAT Ret	WEL 2	PUK 3	FJI	6	27

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1978	Charles Ivey Racing	Gordon Spice John Rulon-Miller	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	IMSA +2.5	278	14th	2nd
1984	Team Australia John Fitzpatrick Racing	Peter Brock	Porsche 956B	C	145	DNF	DNF
1988	Silk Cut Jaguar Tom Walkinshaw Racing	Derek Daly Kevin Cogan	Jaguar XJR-9LM	C1	383	4th	4th

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1977	NGK Janson	Peter Janson	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	3001cc – 6000cc	162	3rd	3rd
1979	Cadbury Schweppes Racing	Peter Janson	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	A	157	2nd	2nd
1980	Cadbury Schweppes Racing	Peter Janson	Holden VC Commodore	3001-6000cc	162	2nd	2nd
1981	Cadbury Schweppes Racing	Peter Janson	Holden VC Commodore	8 Cylinder & Over	67	DNF	DNF
1982	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	Peter Brock	Holden VH Commodore SS	A	163	1st	1st
1983	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	John Harvey Peter Brock Phil Brock	Holden VH Commodore SS	A	163	1st	1st
		Peter Brock	Holden VH Commodore SS	A	8	DNF	DNF
1984	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	Peter Brock	Holden VK Commodore	Group C	163	1st	1st
1985	Palmer Tube Mills	Dick Johnson	Ford Mustang GT	A	159	7th	7th
			Ford Mustang GT	A	-	DNS	DNS
1986	Enzed Team Perkins	David Parsons	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A	C	140	25th	18th
1987	Enzed Team Perkins	Denny Hulme	Holden VK Commodore SS Group A	1	2	DNF	DNF
1988	Holden Special Vehicles	Denny Hulme Tom Walkinshaw	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	A	137	DNF	DNF
1989	Holden Racing Team	Tomas Mezera	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	A	158	6th	6th
1990	Perkins Engineering	Tomas Mezera	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	1	161	3rd	3rd
1991	Mobil 1 Racing	Tomas Mezera	Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV	1	65	DNF	DNF
1992	Perkins Engineering	Steve Harrington	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	A	135	9th	8th
1993	Castrol Perkins Racing	Gregg Hansford	Holden VP Commodore	A	161	1st	1st
1994	Castrol Perkins Racing	Gregg Hansford	Holden VP Commodore	A	161	3rd	3rd
1995	Castrol Perkins Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden VR Commodore	A	161	1st	1st
1996	Castrol Perkins Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden VP Commodore		160	6th	6th
1997	Castrol Perkins Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden VS Commodore	L1	161	1st	1st
1998	Castrol Perkins Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden VT Commodore	OC	161	2nd	2nd
1999	Castrol Perkins Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden VT Commodore		161	7th	7th
2000	Castrol Perkins Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden VT Commodore		159	11th	11th
2001	Castrol Perkins Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden VX Commodore		161	8th	8th
2002	Castrol Perkins Racing	Paul Dumbrell	Holden VX Commodore		161	5th	5th
2003	Castrol Perkins Racing	Steven Richards	Holden VY Commodore		161	4th	4th

References

1. "Drivers:Larry Perkins". grandprix.com. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
2. John Lemm, Perkins is Australian Champ!, Racing Car News, August 1979, page 68.
3. "The Journey". Snooks Motorsport. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
4. Adam, Mitchell (7 December 2017). "Supercars to race for Larry Perkins Trophy at AGP". Supercars. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
5. Moodie, Claire (16 July 2018). "Racing legend Larry Perkins swaps racetrack for outback and returns with buried treasure". ABC News. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
6. Peter Stuyvesant International Formula Pacific Series 1978 Retrieved from http://www.driverdb.com on 30 January 2011
7. Formula Pacific New Zealand International Series 1978-79 Retrieved from http://www.driverdb.com on 30 January 2011
8. New Zealand Formula Pacific 1977-1982 Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from motorsportsresults.com on 30 January 2011

External links

• Larry Perkins Comprehensive Biography and Race Record

Sporting positions
Preceded by None	European Formula Three Champion 1975	Succeeded by Riccardo Patrese
Preceded by Dick Johnson John French	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 1982, 1983, 1984 (with Peter Brock and John Harvey (1983))	Succeeded by John Goss Armin Hahne
Preceded by Jim Richards Mark Skaife	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 1993 (with Gregg Hansford)	Succeeded by Dick Johnson John Bowe
Preceded by Dick Johnson John Bowe	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 1995 (with Russell Ingall)	Succeeded by Craig Lowndes Greg Murphy
Preceded by Craig Lowndes Greg Murphy	Winner of the Bathurst Classic 1997 (with Russell Ingall)	Succeeded by Jason Bright Steven Richards