How Perkins denied Bowe in Perth's closest finish

For years, Larry Perkins had been the bridesmaid to John Bowe — but when his chance came in Perth in 1997, he took it.

A benchmark set in 1997 at the venue of the next round of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship still stands today.

In the opening race of the 1997 Perth round, Perkins beat Bowe — the 1995 champion — by just 0.1164s.

It remains the closest ‘racing’ finish in Perth Supercars history, and it was Perkins’ first and only victory in Western Australia.

In fact, Perkins’ win came from 12th on the grid — a benchmark only bettered by Scott McLaughlin’s win from 19th in 2018!

The record for the closest race-winning margin has stood since 1996, when Craig Lowndes beat Peter Brock by 0.0226s in a Holden Racing Team form finish.

However, where that was staged, Perkins and Bowe went to war — and it took inspiration from teammate Russell Ingall to get there.

'He still has to pass me… this time, it was my turn in front'

Ingall won the previous race at Lakeside from fourth on the grid, and had made some spirited charges in 1997.

Having started 12th, Perkins worked his way forward, but was forced to defend from a racy Bowe.

Bowe’s signature move was a dive-bomb into Turn 7, the final corner, but Perkins was awake to the move each time.

On the final lap, Perkins ran into Turn 7 on the dirty side, which negated a Bowe bomb down the inside.

It left Perkins vulnerable to attack on the short run to the line, hence the small margin — but the move proved pivotal to Perkins’ win chances.

“I’m learning from Russell — you’ve got to press on when you’re down the back,” an exhausted Perkins said after the race.

“The days of protected species up the front you’re not allowed to pass, they’re well gone.

“I’m absolutely rapt, I'm delighted I did it myself today — it’s the same old story, Bowe’s going to give you a race.”

Perkins and Ingall later won Bathurst

It was Perkins’ third of five championship race wins in 1997, with the future Hall of Famer later winning his sixth Bathurst 1000 with Ingall.

Bowe won Race 2 later that day, with Perkins dropping to sixth.

Regardless, Perkins — who was 47 at the time, and Bowe 43 — was relieved to get one over his long-time rival.

On the battle with Bowe, Perkins said: “He was catching me, but when you’re at the front, you don’t have to take risks.

“He still has to pass me — I’ve spent four years following John Bowe, hardly ever touched paint.

“This time, it was my turn in front, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Bowie, that’s what it’s all about.

“Press on, race within the rules. It was really good stuff."

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint on April 28-30.