Jack 'Perko' Perkins (born 22 August 1986) is an Australian motor racing driver who competes in the
Pirtek Enduro Cup. He currently co-drives with
Will Brown in the No. 9
Holden ZB Commodore
The Opel Insignia is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) developed and produced by the German car manufacturer Opel since 2008. Taking its name from a 2003 concept car, the model line serves as the flagship Opel car line, slotted above th ...
for
Erebus Motorsport
Erebus Motorsport, (formerly known as Erebus Racing,) is an Australian motor racing team. The team competes in the Supercars Championship with two Holden ZB Commodores. The team's current drivers are Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki.
The team i ...
. He is the son of retired Australian race driver and former team owner
Larry Perkins
Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.
Biography Early years
Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddi ...
, in whose team
Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...
, he drove between 2006 and 2008. Initially competing as an endurance race only driver in 2006, in 2007 Perkins graduated to the full-time drive in the No. 11
Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...
car, the number made
famous in Australian racing by his father.
Perkins stepped back from full-time driving in
Supercars' top category in 2015 to sign with the
Holden Racing Team
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche 91 ...
as a co-driver for the
Pirtek Enduro Cup.
In 2019, Perkins collected his first Bathurst podium, finishing in third place alongside
James Courtney
James Anthony Courtney (born 29 June 1980) is an Australian racing driver competing in the Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 5 Ford Mustang GT for Tickford Racing. Courtney won the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series ...
in the No. 22
Holden ZB Commodore
The Opel Insignia is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) developed and produced by the German car manufacturer Opel since 2008. Taking its name from a 2003 concept car, the model line serves as the flagship Opel car line, slotted above th ...
for
Walkinshaw Andretti United
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche 91 ...
.
Career
Perkins Engineering
The
Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...
team run by his father
Larry
Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names.
Larry may refer to the following:
People Arts and entertainment
* Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer
*Larry Boone ...
, ran a two-car Fujitsu Development Series racing program in 2006, leading to Perkins getting the drive in the second No. 78 car, with
Shane Price
Shane Price, (born 26 December 1986 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian motor racing driver who raced for two seasons in the V8 Supercar Championship Series in 2007 and 2008. He has been a front runner in several different motor ...
getting the lead drive in No. 77.
The cars were largely unsponsored, though had a clear association with the main series Jack Daniel's-sponsored Perkins Engineering cars. Perkins and Price were also immediately earmarked to drive the No. 11 Perkins Engineering car in the 2006 endurance races.
Price was generally faster than Perkins during the Fujitsu series, but Perkins managed to finish third in the championship standings,
just behind Price, who was narrowly defeated by
Adam Macrow for the title.
In the Sandown 500, Perkins – together with Price – brought the No. 11 Jack Daniel's
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
home in 24th position,
after Perkins qualified the car in 20th position.
Come the
SuperCheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Price took over the qualifying duties, and placed the car in 27th position for the race.
Perkins started the race, which ended at the end of the first lap, when race favourite
Mark Skaife
Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...
suffered a slipping
clutch off the start line, which caused his No. 2
Holden Racing Team
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche 91 ...
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
to fall to the tail of the field. Perkins, arriving blind over the hump in Mountain Straight ploughed into the back of Skaife's ailing car, putting it out on the spot. Perkins limped around to the pits missing a front left wheel, and with an hydraulic brake line on fire. It did not continue in the race.
After the late and sudden departure of both
Steven Richards and
Paul Dumbrell from the team at the end of 2006, Perkins and Price were elevated to the full-time championship drives for
Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...
in 2007.
While it was not ideal for the inexperienced Perkins and Price to suddenly find themselves racing in the main series, while developing new cars, the timing of Richards and Dumbrell's departure left the team without an opportunity to sign an experienced "name" driver, all of whom had committed contracts for 2007.
Perkins had a mixed season in 2007, with some outstanding results such as qualifying in the Top 10 at
Winton Raceway
Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia.
History
The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 i ...
, coupled with many disappointing race exits whilst running in strong positions. Although he was generally keeping pace with the more highly rated
Shane Price
Shane Price, (born 26 December 1986 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian motor racing driver who raced for two seasons in the V8 Supercar Championship Series in 2007 and 2008. He has been a front runner in several different motor ...
, Jack's performances behind the wheel were suffering towards the end of long stints behind the wheel. It was later found that Perkins was suffering from Type One Diabetes, as described further down in this article.
Perkins returned to the team in 2008 for the endurance races, partnered with
Nathan Pretty
Nathan Pretty (born 7 July 1973) is an Australian racecar driver.
Career
He first rose to prominence racing AUSCAR Superspeedway sedans (a Holden Commodore), becoming rookie of the year in his initial season in 1994. His family based race te ...
– finishing 8th at Phillip Island,
and 8th at Bathurst
– and eventually to the full-time drive from the Indy Grand Prix round of the season onwards, after the slide of form and eventual dumping of Shane Price from the team.
Price, who had already been dropped to the position of number two driver, following the arrival of
Todd Kelly
Todd Kelly (born 9 October 1979) is a retired Australian professional racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He is the older brother of fellow Supercars driver and former Bathurst 1000 winner, Rick Kelly. H ...
at the beginning of 2008, was left without a drive. Perkins had already returned to competition in the 2008 Fujitsu Development Series, running a
Mack-sponsored
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
for Independent Race Cars Australia.
Independent Race Cars Australia
After bringing his medical condition under control, Perkins competed in the Fujitsu V8 Development Series in a
Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...
built car, but run by Independent Race Cars Australia in 2008, with a view to a return to a full-time drive in the main championship series in 2009.
Although starting the series strongly in Adelaide,
a mid-season slump saw his title chances slide. Seeking an improvement for the end of the season, the car was brought back into the Perkins Engineering workshops from the Bathurst round onwards. With better knowledge of the car, the engineers were able to help Perkins to some better results, culminating in a race
and round win at the final round at
Oran Park.
The end result was a fifth placing in the championship.
Kelly Racing
Perkins returned to the main V8 Supercar championship in 2009 behind the wheel of the No. 11 Kelly Racing Commodore carrying sponsorship from Dodo Internet.
The deal was part of a merger and eventual takeover of Perkins Engineering by the new Kelly Racing. Jack's No. 11 car for 2009 was the car previously run by Todd Kelly at
Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...
in 2008, chassis number PE047.
The 2009 season was disappointing for Perkins. The new Kelly Racing team was the only four-car team in the series and results were thin. By season's end team leaders Rick and Todd Kelly were beginning to gain results but results for Perkins and the team's fourth car did not come and Perkins was not retained into 2010.
Paul Morris Motorsport
Perkins was without a drive for the 2010 season leaving him to pursue a role with
Paul Morris Motorsport
Paul Morris Motorsport, also known as its business name of Nemo Racing, is an Australian motor racing team that competed in V8 Supercars between 2000 and 2012. The team also won the 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000 and four Australian Super Touring Cha ...
as a signwriter. This eventually led to a part-time return to the second-tier
Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...
in a spare PMM Commodore chassis with limited support from the main team. Perkins's performances in the second tier series where strong enough to earn him a call-up to James Rosenberg Racing for the 2010 Philip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000, pairing with Tim Slade.
Jack's continued strong 2010 form led to Paul Morris Motorsports team owner, Paul Morris, deciding to personally step down from his own driving duties at the Gold Coast round of the championship where he was scheduled to drive with Russell Ingall to allow Perkins to take over the drive. This stirred the sports traditionalists as it re-ignited the famous "Perkins – Ingall" partnership which Jack's father Larry shared with Russell Ingall, which led to 2 Bathurst 1000 crowns. The two drivers worked well together and performed strongly at the event which led to Paul Morris deciding to sign Perkins to compete in the 2011 Philip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000, again pairing with Russell Ingall.
James Rosenberg Racing
Perkins' strong performances in the Fujitsu series in 2010 led to a drive with
James Rosenberg Racing
James Rosenberg Racing was a V8 Supercar racing team owned by South Australian agricultural business identity, James Rosenberg. The team was reformed in 2010 with Tim Slade as the team's driver after a toe-in-the water year working with Paul Mo ...
for the 2010 endurance races. Perkins and
Tim Slade
Tim Slade (born 3 August 1985) is an Australian racing driver who competes in the Repco Supercars Championship. Slade currently drives the No. 3 Ford Mustang GT for Blanchard Racing Team.
Early career
Slade first appeared at a national leve ...
finished the Phillip Island 500 in a strong fifth position equalling the team's best sprint race performance from earlier in the season.
Sonic Motor Racing
Perkins signed a deal with Sonic Motor Racing to compete in the
2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
The 2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series was the twelfth running of the V8 Supercar Development series, an Australian touring car racing series for V8 Supercars. It acted as the principal support category at seven 2011 International V8 Supercars Ch ...
with support from Bob Jane T-Marts, Supercheap Auto, Acu-check and Castrol, using a
BF Falcon
The Ford Falcon (BF) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 2005 to 2008. It was the third and final iteration of the sixth generation of the Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes ...
built by
Triple Eight Race Engineering
Triple Eight Race Engineering, (branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing) is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating ...
.
Garry Rogers Motorsport
Perkins signed with
Garry Rogers Motorsport
Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the te ...
, to partner
Alexandre Premat for the 2012 V8 Supercar endurance events at the Dick Smith Sandown 500 and Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
Perkins returned to GRM for the 2013 V8 Supercars Pirtek Endurance Cup alongside full-time rookie,
Scott McLaughlin
Scott Thomas McLaughlin (; born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand racing driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He previously raced in the Supercars Championship, in which he won ...
. The duo matched Perkins previous best result with an 8th at Bathurst. The No. 33 Commodore was looking strong in the Pirtek Endurance Cup until an electrical issue dogged there challenge at the Armor All Gold Coast 600.
Eggleston Motorsport
Following the opening round of the
2013 Dunlop V8 Supercar Series
The 2013 Dunlop Series was an Australian motor racing competition for V8 Supercars. It was the fourteenth running of a V8 Supercar Development Series, with all rounds held in support of 2013 International V8 Supercars Championship events.
The int ...
at the Clipsal 500, it was announced that Perkins would drive an Eggleston Motorsport Commodore at the second round at Barbagallo Raceway. Perkins finished the championship 4th in the Driver's Standing even though he missed the opening round in Adelaide.
Charlie Schwerkolt Racing
![Jack Perkins 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Jack_Perkins_2014.JPG)
On 19 December 2013, it was announced that Perkins would pilot the No. 18 Jeld Wen
Ford FG Falcon
The Ford Falcon (FG) is a full-sized car that was produced by Ford Australia from 2008 to 2014. It was the first iteration of the seventh and last generation of the Falcon. Its range no longer featured the Fairmont luxury badge, replaced inste ...
for the
2014 International V8 Supercars Championship
The 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship (often simplified to the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship) was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the sixteenth running of the V8 Supercars Championship ...
Series. The
2014 Clipsal 500 marked his return to full-time driving since 2009. He was dropped at the end of the season in favour of
Lee Holdsworth
Lee Holdsworth (born 2 February 1983) is a semi-retired Australian racing driver. He won the 2021 Bathurst 1000 alongside Chaz Mostert and finished his full-time career after the 2022 season, after nearly two decades of racing. He plans to retur ...
. Bathurst was the main highlight of the year, with Perkins qualifying in the top ten and making the shootout. A mistake made on the final corner took him to grid position 9, although he was on track to be around position 6. In the late stages of the race, the car was running in the top five, with a chance for a podium result. However, due to a mistake in pit lane whilst re-entering traffic, they were given a penalty. They later finished 12th.
Holden Racing Team/Walkinshaw Racing/Walkinshaw Andretti United
Perkins signed with HRT for the 2015 Endurance Races. Winning the Gold Coast 600 with James Courtney in 2015. The pair continued for 5 years, another podium finish at the Gold Coast in 2018 and a 3rd place finish at the Bathurst 1000 in 2019.
Type 1 diabetes
Shortly before the penultimate round of the 2007 V8 Supercars Championship Series, Perkins was diagnosed with
Type One Diabetes,
which forced him to step down from the full-time drive of the No. 11
Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
. His place was taken by
Marcus Marshall
Marcus Marshall (born 25 November 1978) is a former Champ Car driver from Australia.
Biography
He began racing in British Formula Three, where he was generally a running outside the top ten, but took a hard-fought win in a wet race. He contest ...
for the final two rounds, as Marshall had had a stint with the team in the 2007 endurance races and was familiar with the team and cars.
Perkins gained control over his condition in 2008 and after passing tests for his fitness to regain his racing licence from the governing body of motorsports in
Australia,
CAMS, he returned to the track in the
V8 Supercar Development Series.
Perkins has become a spokesperson for
Diabetes Australia
Diabetes Australia is the third oldest diabetes association in the world, after the United Kingdom and Portugal. Originally established in the state of New South Wales (NSW) in 1937, the organisation's head office is now in the nation's capital, ...
, and has held several events to raise money for DA,
and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
He maintains personal sponsorship from Accu-Chek, manufacturers of blood sugar test equipment.
Media
Perkins has spent time as a television commentator, often being an analyst for categories such as the
Dunlop V8 Supercar Series
The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...
,
Australian GT Championship
The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race a ...
, as well as
speedway's World Series Sprintcars.
Career results
Complete Super2 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Bathurst 1000 results
References
External links
Jack Perkins Kelly Racing ProfileJack Perkins Holden Motor Sport ProfileJack Perkins V8 Supercars Official Profile*
Jack Perkins profile on US Racing Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Jack
Supercars Championship drivers
Australian racing drivers
1986 births
Living people
Formula Ford drivers
V8SuperTourer drivers
Andretti Autosport drivers
United Autosports drivers
Australian Endurance Championship drivers
Kelly Racing drivers
Garry Rogers Motorsport drivers