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Five iconic father-son legacies in Supercars

05 Sep 2021
This Father's Day, Supercars.com celebrates some famous legacies
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On a number of instances have both father and son hit the highest heights in Australian motorsport.

Most recently, Jack Perkins scored a Bathurst podium in 2019, 22 years after father Larry took the final of his six Bathurst wins.

Some drivers on the 2021 grid - such as Will Davison, Mark Winterbottom and Macauley Jones - all hail from strong motorsport family lineage.

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Notably, Jones is the son of team owner Brad, whose team first won in the championship 10 years ago.

Several more famous racing surnames, such as Brabham, have also made their mark on Australian motorsport.

This Father’s Day, Supercars.com celebrates five successful father-son legacies.

Seton

Glenn Seton with father Barry

With 40 race wins and two championships, Glenn Seton is one of the most successful drivers in ATCC/Supercars history.

One of Ford’s greatest heroes, Seton won the 1993 title after years of Nissan/Gibson dominance.

In 1997, he went one step further and won again. It remains the last time a driver/owner won a championship.

Seton celebrates his 1993 title Pic: AN1 Images

Seton made 26 starts at Mount Panorama, and while he never won the Great Race, his first Bathurst was perhaps his most special.

The 2011 Hall of Fame inductee made his maiden Bathurst start alongside father Barry in 1983.

Seton senior, known to many as ‘Bo’, won the Great Race in a Ford Cortina 18 years earlier.

Glenn would go on to become an Australian motorsport titan, with Super2 driver Aaron now looking to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father.

Richards

A master at work Pic: AN1 Images

Jim and Steven Richards boast a remarkably successful record in Australian motorsport.

‘Gentleman Jim’ paved the way for a generation of New Zealand racers in the early decades of the ATCC.

Richards won two titles in the 1980s for BMW, before he helped Nissan dominate allcomers in the early 1990s.

Four titles and seven Bathurst wins has Richards senior in rare air, with his final Great Race win coming in 2002.

Bathurst won No. 5 for Steven in 2018

Reuniting with old teammate Mark Skaife, Jim - who made a record 35 Bathurst starts - won the 2002 Bathurst 1000 at the ripe old age of 55. He remains the oldest driver to win a championship race.

Son Steven won Bathurst five times: in 1998 with Jason Bright, 1999 with Greg Murphy, 2013 with Mark Winterbottom and twice with Craig Lowndes (2015 and 2018).

Jim and Steven shared a car at Mount Panorama four times, with a 1997 podium the highlight.

Richards junior was a main game regular for over a decade, and while he didn’t win a drivers’ title, he more than left his mark on the championship.

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Johnson

The Johnsons ahead of Dick's final start in 1999 Pic: AN1 Images

Dick Johnson is one of the biggest names in Australian sport, and is the eponymous team owner of the championship-winning Shell V-Power Racing Team.

Johnson won five drivers’ titles and three Bathursts, and is one of Ford’s favourite sons.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Johnson’s championship-Bathurst double, a feat he repeated in 1989.

Steven (C) celebrates Canberra victory in 2001 Pic: AN1 Images

Dick - who was inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame in 2001 - made his final Bathurst start in 1999 alongside son Steven, a year after they first shared a car at Mount Panorama for the first time.

Steven was a main game regular for over a decade, and won three races in 2001 en route to fifth overall.

The two Johnsons combined to bring the famous #17 34 race wins, with Scott McLaughlin continuing the number's legacy with 48 wins between 2017 and 2020.

Perkins

One of the best to grace Mount Panorama Pic: AN1 Images

Hailing from Cowangie in rural Victoria, Larry Perkins did everything his way and remains a formidable name in Australian motorsport.

A self-taught engineer, Perkins won the Great Race a whopping six times, three of them in the 1990s for his own team.

Perkins - who also made Formula One starts in the 1970s - enjoyed great success with his eponymous team before he moved it on to the Kelly family in 2008.

Jack (L) won at Surfers Paradise with Courtney in 2015

Son Jack made his Bathurst debut for the team in 2006, but an unfortunate first-lap clash with Mark Skaife ended his day early.

Now a popular broadcaster and esteemed co-driver, Perkins junior won at Surfers Paradise with James Courtney in 2015.

In 2019, Jack continued his father’s legacy in Bathurst with a podium alongside Courtney.

In 2021, Jack will co-drive for Erebus Motorsport at the Repco Bathurst 1000.

Moffat

The only Canadian to make it big in Aussie motorsport

Allan Moffat, the inaugural Supercars Hall of Fame inductee in 1999, was a pioneer for overseas racers in Australia.

Moffat pushed Bob Jane all the way in the early 1970s, and while he missed out in 1971 and 1972, his patience would be rewarded.

Between 1970 and 1983, Moffat won the Great Race four times and the drivers’ title four times.

Gold Coast success for Moffat junior (L) in 2018

The Canadian delivered arguably Ford’s most famous victory in Bathurst in 1977. Seven years later, son James was born.

Moffat junior made his main game debut in the 2010 enduros, and was a championship regular between 2011 and 2017.

In 2013, he scored Nissan’s first victory in 21 years at Winton. From 2018, he has been Tickford’s leading co-driver, and won at Surfers Paradise with Chaz Mostert.

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