Phillip Island Victoria , January 28th 1968.
I am 11 years old and standing on top of an old esky, I'm leaning forward over a wire fence straining to see who will appear first around the distant corner.
Along with my older brother and father we are at the annual Phillip Island Auto racing club meeting. The motor race meeting was a favourite activity of the summer school holidays. I loved watching the cars and to the 11 year old me it was all excitement, colour, speed, noise and just plain great fun. I looked upon the guy's who drove race cars like they were latter day gladiators, heroes all, young men who walked 10 feet tall.
But back to the race, my young eyes are still focusing intently on the far corner, distant engine sounds are building in volume as the distinctive sound of unmuffled race engines howled across the grassland and then onward into the face of the mighty Pacific Ocean .
Two cars come belting around the corner, but I do not notice them much because just behind came a Mini cooper "S" and there right beside the mini and on the outside of the corner, running right into the dirty and dangerous side of the race tack swept a similar size car. Driving at the limit was a very weird looking Austin A30, the small A30 blows up dust and circuit dirt as all 4 wheels break loose into a precarious slide, but the small car is not out of control, instead it has all 4 wheels skating across the surface in a glorious precision 4 wheel drifting slide. The crowd gasp just as the small car catches lateral traction right on the border between track and grass, the summer holiday spectators see the moment and move as if a single entity to lean across the fence, in fact all realised as one that they had just become witness to the brilliant car control of a marvellous young master. The small ungainly car that was almost as wide as it was long pulls back onto a straight course and spears up past the long Phillip Island pit lane, in no time the car was before me and then in almost the same instant it flew past the checked flag to finish third.
In small but legible white lettering the young driver had his name on the side of the car . it stated simply "Peter Brock".
I was a kid but I clearly thought "what a driver. that 4 wheel slide. amazing... wow that was just incredible." I was as excited as only an 11 year old boy can be, because after all . I had just seen a genuine hero in action.
