(born
March 18 ,
1950 ) is a former
Racing Driver and current
V8 Supercar team owner from
Australia . He was born in the small town of
Cowangie in
Victoria . At a young age Larry developed a love for cars, and has gone from strength to strength. From racing in Formula One in the
1970s , to driving in
Australia in V8 Supercars. He retired from driving in 2003, aged 53, and now owns his own V8 Supercar team. He is well known for his very outgoing and humorous personality. His nickname is "
Larrikin Larry".
After winning the Australian
Formula Two Championships in 1972, Perkins entered
Formula 1 during the
1970s , and, after driving for
Bernie Ecclestone 's team, failed to secure a permanent drive in the series. He returned to Australia and picked up where he left off almost instantly, winning in both
Formula 5000 and
Touring Cars . 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. By far his most memorable was the last to first effort in 1995. Less than 50 metres off the start line on Lap 1, Perkins made contact with
Craig Lowndes , blowing one of his tyres. He pitted in last place and was lapped while in the pits. From there Perkins staged an amazing comeback, and took the lead with less than 10 laps left, after
Glenn Seton 's car retired with mechanical problems. Perkins went to win and be only the second person in the history of the race to win after dropping to last. Perkins has never won an Australian Touring Car Championship. He retired from racing in 2003, finishing 4th.
He is the father of V8 Supercar driver
Jack Perkins .
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