Australian motorsport figure Phil Brock has died unexpectedly aged 75.
Brock — affectionately known as “Split Pin” — was the youngest of four brothers, which included Supercars legend Peter Brock, after whom the Bathurst 1000 trophy is named.
Phil Brock was also the father of current West Coast Eagles defender Sandy Brock.
Though often cast in the shadow of his legendary brother, Phil built a racing career of his own, making it to the start line at Bathurst five times between 1973 and 1981. It would have been six, but he famously withdrew from the 1983 Great Race so brother Peter and co-driver Larry Perkins could take his car after the untimely breakdown of theirs.
Peter Brock, along with Perkins and John Harvey, went on to win the race for a seventh time. He won again the next year and for the ninth and final time in 1987, with the trio becoming the first three-driver combination to win the iconic Mount Panorama event.
Phil and Peter Brock shared a Torana in 1976 and 1977, finishing third and fourth in those respective years. Phil’s last Bathurst 1000 start came in 1981, though he later returned to racing in other competitions. He shared a race car with Peter for the final time in 2005, a year before Peter’s tragic death.
Sandy Brock was drafted by Gold Coast in 2022 but did not play a game during his three years on the list. He was given a lifeline by West Coast last year, when he played 14 games.
