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| Larry Perkins AM | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Nationality |  Australian |
| Born | Larry Clifton Perkins (1950-03-18)18 March 1950 (age 75) Murrayville,Victoria, Australia |
| Retired | 2003 |
| Relatives | Eddie Perkins (father) George Reynolds (uncle) Jack Perkins (son) |
| ATCC /V8 Supercar | |
| Years active | 1981, 1985–2003 |
| Teams | Holden Dealer Team Perkins Engineering |
| Starts | 320 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Podiums | 38 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Best finish | 4th in1994,1995 &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 |
| Careerpoints | 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) |
Larry Clifton PerkinsAM (born 18 March 1950)[1] is a formerracing driver andV8 Supercar team owner from Australia.
Growing up on a farm inCowangie in theMallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddie Perkins who had won the 1956 RedeXRound Australia Trial and maternal nephew ofBathurst 500-winnerGeorge Reynolds, 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 forHarry Firth'sHolden Dealer Team, and although he didn't do much road racing for the team, he did race inRallycross alongside team driverPeter Brock, and was also involved with the development of the stillbornHolden LJ Torana GTR XU-1V8 project which was canned in mid-1972 by the "Supercar scare".
After winning theTAA Formula Ford "Driver To Europe" Series in 1971 and theAustralian Formula 2 Championship in 1972 (both times in anElfin 600), Perkins travelled to Europe where he won the 1975European Formula Three Championship. He also raced inFormula One during the 1974, 1976 and 1977 seasons. After failing to secure a permanent drive in Formula One he returned to Australia, winning theRothmans International Series in 1979 in anElfin MR8 for theAnsett Team Elfin factory team run byElfin Sports Cars founderGarrie Cooper, and the1979 Australian Rallycross Championship in aVolkswagen Beetle.[2] During 1982 and 1983 he worked with brother Garry on the construction ofThe 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 AustralianTouring Cars and in 1988 he returned toEurope to race at theLe Mans 24 Hour withTom Walkinshaw Racing, finishing 4th.
After returning home from Europe, Perkins made hisBathurst 1000 debut in 1977 in aHolden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback where he finished third withPeter 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 withRussell Ingall, winning each time in an Australian developedHolden Commodore.
Arguably his most memorable win was in the1995 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 ten laps remaining after theFord Falcon ofGlenn Seton retired having dropped a valve in theengine. 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 anAustralian Touring Car Championship, his best championship results being three fourth places.
Perkins made his first appearance in Formula One at the1974 German Grand Prix forChris Amon Racing. With regular driver and team ownerChris Amon sidelined with sinusitis after just one practice lap, Perkins took over in the AF101, failing to qualify after crashing on the second day of practice.
In 1976, Perkins signed a deal with the worksBoro team, for the team's first season. He made his first Formula One start at theSpanish Grand Prix, finishing 13th before achieving a seasons best result of 8th at the following race inBelgium. He failed to qualify atMonaco and retired from theSwedish Grand Prix after blowing an engine. With the team's money drying up, Perkins only made two further appearances in a Boro, retiring from theDutch andItalian Grands Prix, and after Boro's withdrawal, was left without a drive. He replacedCarlos Reutemann atBrabham for the final three races of the year, finishing in 17th position inCanada and retiring from the remaining two races.
For the beginning of 1977, Perkins secured a drive for Stanley BRM, the remnants of the once greatBRM team. After his car failed to be delivered on time for the opening Grand Prix, he made his first appearance at theBrazilian Grand Prix, albeit 12.1 seconds off the pace and retiring after one lap. Lapped five times before finishing 15th inSouth Africa, Perkins lost his seat toConny Andersson at the beginning of the European season. He had a brief stint atSurtees, finishing 12th inBelgium and failing to qualify inSweden. At theFrench Grand Prix, he drove in Friday practice, but was replaced byPatrick Tambay the next day. This marked the end of Perkins' brief and unsuccessful Formula One career.
Perkins retired from driving in 2003, aged 53 and was inducted into theV8 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 winnerJack 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 theBeaurepaires Melbourne 400, the Supercars event supporting theAustralian Grand Prix.[4]
In 2018, Perkins and his brother Peter discovered the lost cache of equipment left behind in theSimpson Desert by explorersHenry 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]
In the2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Perkins was appointed aMember of the Order of Australia for "significant service to motorsport as a touring car driver and team owner".[6]
(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 | AmonAF101 | CosworthV8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | ESP | BEL | MON | SWE | NED | FRA | GBR | GER DNQ | AUT | ITA | CAN | USA | NC | 0 | ||
| 1976 | HB Bewaking Alarm Systems | Boro EnsignN175 | CosworthV8 | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP 13 | BEL 8 | MON DNQ | SWE Ret | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED Ret | ITA Ret | NC | 0 | ||||
| Martini Racing | BrabhamBT45 | Alfa RomeoFlat 12 | CAN 17 | USA Ret | JPN Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | Rotary WatchesStanley BRM | BRMP207 | BRMV12 | ARG | BRA Ret | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| BRMP201B/204 | RSA 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Team Surtees | SurteesTS19 | CosworthV8 | USW | ESP | MON | BEL 12 | SWE DNQ | FRA DNQ | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | JPN |
(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 CutJaguarTom Walkinshaw Racing | Jaguar XJR-9 LM | JRZ | JAR | MON | SIL | LMS 4 | BRN | BRA | NUR | SPA | FJI | SAN | 29th | 30 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(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
(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 |
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Charles Ivey Racing | Gordon SpiceJohn Rulon-Miller | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | IMSA +2.5 | 278 | 14th | 2nd |
| 1984 | Team AustraliaJohn Fitzpatrick Racing | Peter Brock | Porsche 956B | C | 145 | DNF | DNF |
| 1988 | Silk CutJaguarTom Walkinshaw Racing |  Derek DalyKevin Cogan | Jaguar XJR-9LM | C1 | 383 | 4th | 4th |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None | European Formula Three Champion 1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theBathurst 1000 1982,1983,1984 (withPeter Brock andJohn Harvey (1983)) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theBathurst 1000 1993 (withGregg Hansford) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theBathurst 1000 1995 (withRussell Ingall) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theBathurst Classic 1997 (withRussell Ingall) | Succeeded by |
