Champion of the world
FINAL SEASON BRINGS INTERNATIONAL FAME
Approaching 50 and about to hang up his helmet, John Harvey’s race career may have petered out after the Brock/Holden split in 1987, but instead he went on to achieve international fame. First he was chosen to work with GM in Detroit on their Sunraycer, which he drove to victory in the World Solar Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide, then he and Allan Moffat joined forces to contest the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. Driving a new VL Commodore Moffat cheekily bought anonymously from a cashstrapped Brock, they won the first round at Monza after the six BMW M3s that finished ahead were excluded for using lightweight panels. That win (“One of the best days of my life”) – and an excellent fourth place in the Spa 24 Hours later in the year (“One of the most satisfying moments in my motor racing career”) – was an appropriate note on which to end a stellar race career.