To lose one icon may be regarded as misfortune

to lose both Steve Irwin and Peter Brock inside a week looks like carelessness.

Not that Steve Irwin was ever my cup of tea; he struck me as a man weighed down by the burden of his Australian-ness, it was a thing he did not wear lightly. Brock never achieved the kind of international recognition Irwin had; on the other hand Peter Brock had been an accomplished and successful racing driver for as long as I could remember. News that he has died in a accident while taking part in the Targa West Rally has shocked me and saddened me deeply. You know you're getting old when your childhood icons are passing away but Peter died still doing what he did best.

He was the King of the Mountain and inextricably bound up with the Holden marque. My first car was a Holden.

Farewell Peter Brock.