Legends of the Mountain was a car show and celebration of touring car racing at Bathurst, featuring race legends Dick Johnson and John Bowe, with Lewis Brock (Peter Brocks Brother) and Joe Felice (Manager of Holden Motor Sport which involved overseeing HDT Holden Dealer Team 1968-1980).
I had been invited to bring my ex-Holden Dealer Racing Team HK 327 Monaro to Kyabram to join a number of other old touring cars to be displayed at the event.
Saturday evening saw us gathered at the Kyabram Bocce Bowls Centre for a dinner function where the HK was drawn up amongst the other old race cars at the entrance to greet around 300 guests.
Over dinner each of the legends relayed some of their stories and experiences and later took questions from the floor. Johnson and Bowe are a polished team with some interesting tales told with great humor. Joe Felice spoke about the early days of HDT, Firth, Brock, Perkins etc and how things played out in the early days. I suspect that a great deal also went unsaid, as much for the benefit of the living as the dead.
Louis Brock spooked of his involvement with HDT under Peter Brock, with a different slant on Brocks ultimate dismissal by Holden. As they say, two sides to a story.
The following morning saw an early start to the car show at Kyabram Show Grounds. There were hundreds of cars in attendance with an emphasis on Holden and Ford marques. The major sponsors, Jayell Ford and Thompson Holden had displays of their latest cars, the last of the Aussie breed.
Other attractions included the Peter Brock and House of Muscle Apparel Trucks with the legends from the previous evening back on hand to sign auto graphs, judge vehicles and meet the general public.
Not really knowing what to expect at the start l was pleasantly surprised at the slick organisation of the event over both days and large crowds in attendance.
The HK didn’t miss a beat all weekend cruising effortlessly up the Hume Highway despite the heat. On the way home l decided to detour via Yea and Yarra Glen for a change of scenery and to enjoy some more interesting roads. With 113 litres (25 gallons) of petrol in the tank no fuel stops were necessary over the journey, quite a change from travelling in the 56!
Tim Perrin
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