Peter Brock Passed Away
Sad news indeed:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20379150-601,00.html
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'Talk to me,' navigator pleads after Peter Brock dies in rally crash
Tony Barrass and Paige Taylor September 09, 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 25 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 (Hone) 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.
The tragedy comes just days after the death of crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, who died in freak circumstances while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.
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 13 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 4pm 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. Additional reporting: Amanda O'Brien
