Early Holden revhead call
JAMES BRESNEHAN
May 07, 2009 09:33am
PETER Mather is on the hunt for Holden race car drivers to take part in a one-off race meeting.
Peter Mather is on the hunt for all competitors who raced at Longford, Baskerville and Symmons Plains in the halcyon days of Tasmanian motorsport from the 1950s to mid-1970s.
Mather, 59, a former FJ Holden racer, is organising a one-off race meeting, called the Early Model Holden reunion, to be held at Baskerville from September 18 to 20.
Former competitors can dust off their machines and race, demonstrate or parade them around Baskerville over the three-day get-together.
"I went to a similar reunion at Sandown last year and it was a fantastic event, so I thought why not have one here," Mather said yesterday.
"I'm looking for all the old race drivers, and spectators too, to come along and mingle and watch the car racing and just get together and talk about old times -- like you do at a reunion."
Mather raced his beloved 1955 FJ in the early 1970s after watching motor racing at Longford as a kid.
"When I was nine I went to Longford and saw them racing, and I got bitten by the racing bug," Mather said.
"I bought this car as my road car in 1968, and two years later I converted it into a race car and raced it at Baskerville and Symmons Plains."
He sold his Humpy in 1979, only to buy it back again 10 years later in a decrepit state.
"It had changed hands so many times, it went from back yard to back yard, sitting in paddocks and long grass," Mather said.
"The only thing it was fit for was the tip.
"But I restored it and I'm looking forward to racing it again."
Mather said racing used to be a thrill a minute.
"To say close racing was the norm is an understatement," he said.
"We would go door handle to door handle, often racing on three wheels, and two wheels, and sometimes cars ended up on their roofs.
"We had a fierce rivalry on the track, but we built life-long friendships off it."
Anyone interested in knowing more about the Early Model Holden reunion can contact Peter Mather online at
[email protected] or phone (03) 6248 6746.
Shining example ... Peter and Brendan Mather with his immaculate 1955 FJ Holden at Sandown 2008
Edited by user Saturday, 11 July 2009 5:15:32 AM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
