Garry Rogers honoured
Garry Rogers has been inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame after 52 years in Australian motorsport.
Rogers – the most recent team boss to attract a new manufacturer into the sport in Volvo – celebrated his 70th birthday in July this year and is adored for his quirky personality and positive attitude.
The 19th inductee into the Hall of Fame, Rogers joins last year’s legend Mark Skaife and esteemed names including Dick Johnson and Peter Brock.
Known for finding and fostering new talent, Rogers gave many of the sport’s best their starts in V8 Supercars. From Garth Tander, Jamie Whincup, and current fan favourite Scott McLaughlin, Rogers can spot speed and help mould young racers into champions.
A racer himself, Rogers drove sports sedans during the 1960s and ‘70s. In the late ‘70s he began as a privateer in the Australian Touring Car Championship.
Over the next two decades he combined driving and car dealerships, and in 1996 the team we know as Wilson Security GRM entered the ATCC.
Steven Richards drove a Holden VS Commodore that year, and has since gone on to win four Bathurst 1000s.
Rogers’ team won ‘The Great Race’ in 2000 with Tander and Jason Bargwanna at the wheel. That same year Tander achieved the team’s best championship finish with second.
With 21 race wins to its name, Garry Rogers Motorsport is an important and beloved team in pit lane, with one of the biggest next gen stars now behind the wheel.
McLaughlin clocked up four race wins last year – in Volvo’s first season. After a tough run this year, the team is sure to be reinvigorated with race winner James Moffat coming on as a teammate for 2016.
Earlier this year, a number of Rogers’ old race cars were collected and paraded at Queensland Raceway by his past and current drivers in a celebration of his contribution to the category.
Tonight that goes one step further with his induction into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame.
