Australian motorsport great, Bathurst winner dead

Australian motorsport nice John Harvey, a Bathurst 1000 winner in 1983, has died at age 82 of lung most cancers.

Harvey handed away on Saturday night time and his household made an announcement by way of social media.

“Final night time at eight:45 sadly our Dad, John Francis Harvey, handed away peacefully along with his household by his aspect,” a household assertion on John Harvey’s Facebook page learn.

“Most individuals may have fond recollections of Dad’s wonderful racing profession and the good recollections of him will stay on eternally.

“To us he was way more, a beautiful husband, father, grandfather and nice grandfather, supporting all of us at any time when we would have liked his steerage and love.

“What a life he has lived travelling the world racing with and towards one of the best within the enterprise, all the time a real gentleman.

“Everyone knows his most proudest achievement was us. We’ll dearly miss him however we all know the time was proper.”

It was introduced final month that Harvey, born in Sydney in 1938, had terminal lung most cancers.

Harvey’s racing profession started within the 1950s, as a high speedway driver. He switched to highway racing within the mid-1960s, underneath the legendary Bob Jane, and had a specific ardour for open-wheelers. The open-wheel Australian 1.5 Litre Championship of 1966 and the 1971 and 1972 Australian Sports activities Automobile Championships counted amongst his titles.

He dabbled in touring automobiles through the mid-1960s and claimed his first championship race win in 1976, at Symmons Plains driving a privateer Torana. He was a runner-up within the Bathurst 1000 that very same 12 months, teamed with Colin Bond.

His most high-profile triumph, the 1983 Bathurst win, got here in extraordinary – and quite explosive – circumstances.

Harvey was teamed with Phil Brock, Peter Brock’s brother, within the #25 VH Commodore for that version of the enduring Mt Panorama race. Peter Brock was racing with Larry Perkins and the 4 drivers have been throughout the Holden Supplier Workforce (HDT).

Harvey began the race within the crew’s second automobile, whereas Peter Brock drove the well-known 05 automobile from pole place – till catastrophe struck.

After simply eight laps, ‘Peter Good’ pulled his HDT automobile into the pits, smoke pouring from the engine. His race appeared completed, till a ruthless transfer was pulled.

It was then throughout the guidelines for a pair of drivers to modify to a different automobile inside their crew, which is what Peter Brock and Perkins did. Harvey pitted from second place and his driving in that race was finished.

Brock and Perkins seized the lead on lap 48 and received the Bathurst 1000 by greater than a lap from Allan Moffat and Yoshimi Katayama.

Having pushed the primary eight laps within the victorious automobile, Harvey was credited alongside Peter Brock and Perkins as a race winner. They have been the primary trio of drivers topped champions of the Bathurst 1000.

Phil Brock, who did not get to drive, missed out; an particularly brutal flip of occasions given his brother’s central position. For Peter Brock, it was his seventh of 9 Bathurst wins. and his fifth in six years.

That was only one vibrant chapter in Harvey’s racing profession. He was a three-time runner-up within the Bathurst 1000, with second locations in 1976, 1984 and 1986. He completed third within the 1979 Australian Touring Automobile Championship, driving an HDT Torana.

He received his class, and was fourth outright, within the 1987 Spa 24 Hours with Allan Moffat and Tony Mulvihill. That very same 12 months, he received the opening spherical of the World Touring Automobile Championship at Monza, once more with Moffat.

Harvey retired from aggressive motorsport after the 1988 Bathurst 1000. Except for his racing exploits, Harvey was additionally a key determine within the Holden Particular Autos program and the Holden Racing Workforce outfit in V8 Supercars. He had motor oil in his blood, to the tip.

Harvey was inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Corridor of Fame in 2018 and this 12 months was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for providers to motorsport.