Stepping back in time once again, the late 1980’s were a tough time for Holden supporters in Australian touring car racing.
From the moment Allan Grice won the 1986 James Hardie 1000 in a VK Commodore, a Holden did not lead a single race lap at the Bathurst until lap 32 of the 1990 race, when Larry Perkins briefly held the lead during the first round of pitstops.
It would turn out to be a magnificent day for all Holden fans. Not only having led a lap after so long, it actually looked like one of two Holden Commodores might actually win the race.
For most of the day, the Win Percy/Allan Grice car looked the most likely, with the Larry Perkins/Tomas Mezera car not far behind. Right near the end, it seemed that the Perkins Engineering team was going to walk away with it.
But a mix-up with the dual pace cars in operation that year – (and never again, thankfully!) – going at different speeds, Larry lost half a lap at his final pitstop, leaving the Percy/Grice car back in the box seat.
A few late race nerves in regards to fuel consumption kept us all on the edge of our seats, but a Holden won again, and didn’t the fans love it. As former Channel Seven commentator Mike Raymond says on the final lap – “Look at them! You’ve made their day!”.
All I can remember was thinking that it made more than just my day. It was awesome.