Friday 8th September 2006
Motor racing legend Peter Brock died in the
driver's seat of a Daytona sports coupe as his navigator Mick
Hone pleaded with him - "Peter, Peter, talk to me, talk to
me"
Sydney investment banker Les Andrews was one of about twenty-five
spectators who watched Brock's vehicle round a slippery, sweeping
bend just before midday
The car lost control, then ploughed sideways at speed into a tree
just off the bitumen
As spectators stood stunned, Mr Andrews ran to the crash scene,
opened the car door and held Brock's arm
"I took Peter's pulse from his left hand and I couldn't feel
a pulse, and then I put Peter's hand in the navigator's"
he told The Weekend Australian
Mr Andrews said Hone, who suffered substantial stomach injuries,
was calling out to Brock to talk to him
"Eventually, after he kept on asking about Peter, I had to
tell him his friend had passed away
I just stroked his shoulder and waited with him
Peter still had a tight grip with his other hand on the steering
wheel, which I thought was quite surreal
You could see there was no hope for him because he was losing
a lot of blood from his head
He looked very peaceful"
Late last night, the 61-year-old navigator was in a stable condition
in Swan Districts Hospital
He was expected to be transferred to Royal Perth Hospital late
last night, and police described his injuries as "not life-threatening"
Brock, 61, the son of a mechanic and a nine-time winner of the
Bathurst 1000 during the 1970s and 80s, is believed to have died
instantly in the crash
He was the star attraction of the second Targa West rally, held
in bushland near the small community of Gidgegannup, 40km east
of Perth
The accident happened about 10km into the 13km leg of the first
stage of the rally, which started yesterday morning and was due
to run all weekend
Police have seized video footage taken by one of spectators
It took rescuers several hours to free Brock's body because the
initial cutting and rescue equipment was inadequate
Targa officials refused to comment on the tragedy
Crash investigators were still at the scene last night
Brock's death has stunned the Australian motorsport community,
and tributes were flowing in last night from political, sporting
and community leaders across Australia
Witnesses said the rear of Brock's car started sliding to the
right as it sped past them
Spectators estimated the vehicle was going about 90-95km/h, significantly
faster than the cars that had gone before it
Brock managed to correct the slide, but lost control again before
the vehicle slammed into a karri tree, and then lurched down into
a shallow ditch
Brock and Hone were in the fourth-last car to set off on that
leg
It is believed Brock had only arrived in Western Australia on
Thursday night on a flight from England, where he had heavy racing
commitments
Ross Dunkerton, a close friend who was ahead of Brock at the time
of the accident, said the bend in question was a tricky piece
of road and "Peter actually hadn't driven it before"
Drivers are allowed to travel the course in normal vehicles before
the rally begins
"This event is unique
It's not a circuit like Bathurst, it's a situation where the road
surfaces keep changing" he said
Dunkerton said he had "actually had that corner marked with
a caution - whether or not Peter had that, I don't know"
"The situation with Peter was that he flew in, he hadn't
driven it, it was raining and if you put all those things together
..." he said
News Limited motoring writer Neil Dowling was thirteen cars behind
Brock when the accident happened
He said the conditions were moist and slippery and there had been
another accident before Brock's in which a car rolled over, but
no one was injured
The rally was suspended immediately after the accident and organisers
will today consider whether to abandon the event
Locals said the bend was notorious and they had warned that it
was only a matter of time before someone was killed trying to
take it
The roads that wind through the bushland are closed to the public
while the rally - which started yesterday morning - is under way
Drivers gathered at rally headquarters at the Burswood Dome at
4.00pm to receive counselling and a debriefing on the tragedy
Many were too upset to talk
Light rain had been falling all day in the hills area and all
roads were very slippery, according to organisers
An organiser said the Daytona was a rear-wheel-drive, while many
of the other vehicles were four-wheel-drive
"He was a great bloke and I have a lot of respect for him
He was a hero" the organiser said
He thought the rally should continue and believed Brock would
have wanted it that way
