Supercars Legends / Australian
Larry Perkins
Perkins made engineering judgement and endurance racing central to a career that delivered six Bathurst victories.
By DriveAgent News · Historical profile · Records checked
The biography
A driver, team owner and engineer, Perkins won Bathurst with the Holden Dealer Team before building further success through Perkins Engineering.
The comeback that defines the Castrol car
The 1995 Bathurst race began badly. Contact with Craig Lowndes left Perkins with a puncture and a slow trip back to the pits. He and Russell Ingall had to work forward from the tail of the field.
A late Safety Car brought the contest back within reach. Perkins passed rivals as their challenges unravelled, including Glenn Seton, whose engine failed with nine laps remaining. The recovery delivered Perkins’ fifth Bathurst win and Ingall’s first.
Sources: [2]
The car behind the story
The winning #11 VR Commodore had raced only once before Bathurst, at Sandown. It later became Ingall’s full-time car and then part of the Castrol Cougars programme, showing how a race-winning chassis could serve several chapters of a team’s history.
Perkins’ six Bathurst wins, rather than a touring-car championship, anchor his record. His profile belongs here because endurance preparation and the work of an independent constructor are essential parts of the sport’s story.