There are surnames in Australian sport that carry a weight all of their own. Brock is one of them. And this week, the family behind that name is grieving again.
Phil Brock, the youngest of the four Brock brothers and a respected figure in Australian motorsport in his own right, has died unexpectedly at the age of 75, as reported by 7News. Known across the paddock by his affectionate nickname 'Split Pin', a nod to his lanky frame, Phil spent decades in and around the sport that made his older brother Peter a household name.
It would have been easy, perhaps even expected, for Phil to simply orbit the brilliant light that was Peter Brock, the nine-time Bathurst 1000 winner after whom the Great Race trophy is now named. Instead, Phil made five starts at Mount Panorama between 1973 and 1981, competing in an era when Australian touring car racing was at its most raw and genuinely dangerous.
His best results at the mountain came alongside Peter. The brothers shared a Holden Torana in 1976 and 1977, finishing third and fourth respectively. That 1976 season was particularly rich: the pair also combined to win the Sandown 400, crossing the line two laps clear of Allan Moffat's Ford Falcon, according to Speedcafe.com.
The moment for which Phil is perhaps most remembered, though, is the one that cost him a likely Bathurst victory. In 1983, Peter's leading Holden Commodore expired just eight laps into the race. Peter and co-driver Larry Perkins commandeered the sister car that Phil was sharing with John Harvey, leaving Phil on the sidelines for the remainder of the race. Peter, Perkins, and Harvey went on to win, becoming the first three-driver combination to take the iconic Mount Panorama race. Phil never drove a lap that day.
It was a selfless act, and one that says something about the bond between the brothers. Eighteen years later, they shared a car together one final time at the Ken Leigh HQ Holden 4 Hour at Winton in 2005, just a year before Peter was killed in an accident during the Targa West road rally in Western Australia in September 2006.
Away from competition, Phil's contribution to Australian culture ran wider than many fans appreciated. He was also known for his role as a stunt driver in the Mad Max film series throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His career bridged high-level competition and behind-the-scenes technical skill in vehicle work for television and film. He spent much of his adult life living in Darwin.
Phil's sporting legacy does not end with a steering wheel. His son Sandy Brock, originally from Palmerston just outside Darwin, is a current AFL defender. Sandy spent the 2021 season with Peel Thunder in the WAFL before being picked up by Gold Coast as a Northern Territory zone selection, spending three years at the Suns without breaking through for a senior debut. West Coast gave him the lifeline he needed. Brock was invited to train with the Eagles and was signed just prior to the supplementary signing period expiring; handed a debut in the first month of the 2025 season, he played 14 games, impressing with his clean delivery out of defence. He has since put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension until the end of 2027, continuing what the club described as a remarkable rise.
For the West Coast Eagles, news of Phil's passing will be felt throughout the playing group. Sandy will carry the family name forward on the AFL stage at a moment of profound personal loss.
The numbers across Phil Brock's career do not tell the full story, and in this sport they rarely do. A man who stepped aside when his brother needed him most, who chased speed for the love of it, who drove through smoke and chaos on film sets as readily as on racetracks, and who raised a son now representing his country's elite football competition. That is a life that deserves more than a footnote in someone else's story.
The Brock family and the wider Australian motorsport community are in mourning. Phil 'Split Pin' Brock was 75.