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Rodney Jane will pay homage to Peter Brock and Larry Perkins as he makes his international racing debut at next weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As part of the event’s 100th anniversary, Jane will compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup almost four decades Brock and Perkins raced at Le Sarthe under the ‘Team Australia’ banner in a Bob Jane T-Marts backed Porsche 956 the pair leased from John Fitzpatrick.
“This trip for me means more than just driving a race car at Le Mans,” said Jane, who returned this year’s Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia with Sonic Racing after a 10-year hiatus.
“I’m really excited for this adventure. It is really going to mean a lot to myself and the Bob Jane T-Marts business.”
“My father [Bob] was instrumental in the careers of many racing drivers, including some of the best names in the sport and he played a pivotal role in getting Peter Brock and Larry Perkins to race there 39 years ago in a Porsche in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Two Bathurst legends racing there was massive news at the time and I’d like to think that this trip is a small way to pay homage to that.
The Brock/Perkins combination came at the peak of the pair’s driving and engineering achievements together, winning their third consecutive Bathurst 1000 that October by two laps in a Holden Dealer Team one-two finish.
Despite their undoubted achievements, Brock and Perkins’ 1984 entry came amongst the largest Australian contingent to enter the Le Mans, and most in much more competitive outfits than the Bathurst-conquering duo.
Vern Schuppan teamed up with 1980 World Drivers’ Champion Alan Jones and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier, while Brock and Perkins’ Group C touring car rival Allan Grice was there, too, also in a Porsche 956.
Rusty French was given a Le Mans berth after winning the 1983 Australian GT Championship in a Porsche 935, defeating Jim Richards’ BMW.
UK-based Australian Neil Crang entered a Tiga-Cosworth GC84 in the C2 class with Brits Ray Bellm and Gordon Spice, too.
The Team Australia entry performed admirably, given it the arrangement was put together in a relatively short time, and with only two drivers share 24 hours of racing.
Qualifying 15th, the Bob Jane T-Marts Porsche ran as high as fifth before the wheels feel off – literally for Brock, causing front hub damage and costing almost 30 minutes in the pits. A broken rear rocker arm when Perkins was at the wheel pushed the Porsche further down the field, so the chosen strategy was torn up and caution thrown to the wind.
That would prove Brock and Perkins’ demise, as Larry crashed just before two o’clock in the morning – admirably taking full responsibility for the error – ending their Le Mans dream.
Brock made his Le Mans debut in 1976 driving a BMW with Brian Muir and Jean-Claude Aubriet, the latter achieving a class victory and fifteenth outright at Le Mans two years earlier. While showing genuine pace, a driveshaft failure ended their campaign after 19 hours and 156 laps.
MORE: Craig Lowndes eyeing Le Mans start.
Brock returned in 1981 with Jim Richards – who’d shared Brock’s first Mount Panorama three-peat the previous year – and former HDT team-mate Colin Bond. The Porsche 924 Turbo organised by Porsche Cars Australia distributor, Alan Hamilton, didn’t make the start, failing to qualify after mechanical issues in the lead up to the race.
The Bob Jane T-Marts 1984 effort was Perkins’ second and Brock’s third Le Mans attempt, and while Perkins returned in 1988 in a Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar, driving to fourth outright with Derek Daly and Kevin Cogan, it was the final time Peter Brock would be seen on the 24 Hours of Le Mans entry list.
The first of two Porsche Carrera Cup practice sessions at this year’s Le Mans starts at 08:00 local time/16:00 AEST on Wednesday June 7, with qualifying in Friday June 9 and a single race at 09:45 local/17:45 AEST Saturday June 10.
The 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans starts at 15:00 local time/23:00 AEST Saturday June 10.
