Gallery: Brocktober 2017

By: James Robinson, Unique Cars magazine , Photography by: Shaun Tanner

Date: 22.01.2018

Marking 30 years since Brock's final Bathurst 1000 win when the HDT VL Group A Commodore claimed victory

Brocktober 2017

For the Brock Commodore Owners Association of Australia (BCOAA), 2017 marked a very special anniversary: 30 years since Peter Brock’s ninth and final win at the Bathurst classic, when he and co-drivers Peter McLeod and David Parsons piloted the HDT Racing VL SS Group A to victory in the 1987 James Hardie 1000.

To celebrate this significant milestone in Australian motor racing history, BCOAA planned to make their annual national meeting, Brocktober, a very special one.

So, on the weekend of October 13–15, no fewer than 81 HDT vehicles descended on the very town where it all happened, the home of Australian endurance racing – Bathurst.

Saturday morning saw 13 VCs, 13 VHs, 30 VKs and 18 VL Commodores, as well as four WB Magnums, one Monza and two HDT racecar replicas line Russell Street in front of the town’s magnificent courthouse.

Gary Bundy, Vice President of BCOAA, said it was the biggest turn-out of HDTs he’d seen in one place since Peter Brock’s funeral.

"Seeing all these amazing cars in the one place is truly remarkable, and the reaction from the local community has been wonderful," Bundy said.

An even more astonishing sight, if that’s possible, was the 11 HDT VL Group A Commodores assembled in front of the courthouse along with an exact replica of the actual HDT Racing VL Group A racecar that took victory at The Mountain 30 years ago.

"I think the most VL Group As I’ve seen together previously is four, you just don’t get to see things like this very often, and to have the racecar replica here as well just makes it even better," Bundy said.

"We’re also really lucky to have none other than Peter McLeod himself in attendance this year, and to see him here along with these cars truly is very special indeed".

Once the display had come to an end, members of BCOAA took their HDTs up to Mount Panorama for some laps around the famed circuit and the uneven rumble and roar of 80-odd bent-eight motors emanated from the mountain like rolling thunder.

That night, the BCOAA committee announced their category winners for the 2017 Brocktober nationals.

The most prestigious award, the BCOAA Perpetual Trophy, was awarded to Neil Peck and his stunning white WB Magnum.

Sunday morning saw the Brock vehicles take over pit lane for a group photo, with the Perpetual Trophy winning Magnum spearheading the impressive pride of Iron Lions.

Once the group shot had been taken, the BCOAA members drove their HDTs around the track to the Bathurst Light Car Club, to reflect on the great weekend.

Many of the BCOAA members also mentioned that it would be the final Brocktober to be held while the Holden Commodore was still being built locally, and that, in a way, it was a fitting send off to what is one of Australia’s greatest automotive monikers.

It’s hard to imagine that all the amazing cars that took part in this national meeting only exist because of one man, and although he wasn’t without his controversies and foibles, Peter Brock was a remarkable human being, and the cars he created represent a high watermark in Australian automotive history.

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