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About Larry Perkins
Known simply as 'LP' or 'The Cowangie Kid' more recent fans will only know of Larry Perkins as the ace V8 touring car exponent, the ardent Holden man and engineer extraordinaire.
Those with longer memories, though, will recall that this bespectacled, straight-talking country Aussie has just about done it all on the motorsport stage, starting his career in open wheelers before heading to Europe and making it all the way to F1, attracting the attention of Bernie Ecclestone no less, before returning to Australia to assume god-like status - among Holden fans, at least!
Larry Perkins was born into motorsport, his father dominating Round-Australia trials in the 1950s driving Volkswagens. Brought up in the small country town of Cowangie, he went to Tutye state school in Murrayville until year 5, before going to consolidated school until year 10, after which he dropped out.
By the late 1960s, though, in his own words, he had "got sick of water boring and bought a Formula Vee". Given a chance by four-times Australian Drivers Champion Bib Stillwell to drive in his team, Perkins made his race debut at Mallala in South Australia in 1969.
He raced full-time in Formula Vee in 1970, winning the Australian championship, before taking victory in the 1971 Australian Formula Ford 1600 championship in an Elfin, including a win at Oran Park where he took fastest lap of the race.
Since then Larry has gone from strength to strength. From racing in Formula One in the 1970s, to driving in Australia in V8 Supercars. He has won the Bathurst 1000 six times (1982, 1983, 1984, 1993, 1995, 1997), with co drivers such as Peter Brock, Gregg Hansford and in his last two wins, Russell Ingall winning each time in a home-grown Holden Commodore V8. He retired from driving in 2003, aged 53, and now owns his own V8 Supercar team.
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| Based in: VIC Melbourne CBD |
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