How much, you may wonder.
I have watched every race since 1978.
I have watched them all live, getting up at 4am Perth time to watch the start of the Sunday telecast.
My friends know that I will not go to any other event over this weekend.
I have taken leave from work so that I can watch this race.
When I visited Sydney in 2004, I drove out to Bathurst just so that I could see and drive around the track.
This year is a special one, celebrating 10 years of the Peter Brock Trophy and celebrating the life of the man who has won more Bathurst races than any other driver. So as everyone connected with the race is sharing their special memories of Bathurst 2006, I thought that I would share mine.
So for me, 2006 was a difficult year. My Dad was sick and in May of 2006 we lost him. Even though I knew it was coming, I was devastated. We watched car racing together and we worked on cars together. My Dad taught me to love and care for my cars and that was great. My cars have always been very close friends. They were not special vehicles in anyone elses eyes, but to me they were very special. I have loved them all. Thank you Dad.
In July, I lost my job. I was told that it was not me, they were very happy with my work, but the area that I was working in was not economically viable and that was that.
And then in September of 2006, I lost my hero, the driver I had followed since I had first heard of this race just before the 1978 Bathurst. Peter Brock was special to our family. He was the man we had seen drive all day and win the race by miles. He always had something to say to the fans. His final accident was in my home state in Australia, not far from where I lived, so like many Perth-based fans, I went there and saw the tributes to the man we all loved.
October 2006, I wasn't sure if I could even bear to watch the race. I was hurting so much from everything that had happened. It would be the first time that I had watched the race on my own. I would not have my usual after-race analysis with my Dad. In the end I just could not bear to be away from the cars. I watched the build up and was cheered up somewhat when Mark Skaife was fasted in the shoot-out and put his car on pole. I loved the tributes to Peter Brock on the day and the respect that was shown. Then the race started and Mark Skaife's car was involved in an accident on Mountain Straight which put him out of the race. He was the active driver I was following in the series at the time. At this point, I just couldn't keep on coping and sat there in front of the tv in tears for the next hour.
At the end of the day, I was conflicted. I was happy that Craig Lowndes had won the race. I had a fair idea of what it meant to him. But as a very one-eyed Holden girl, I was just upset that he had done it in a Falcon. Brock was a Holden man, we were a Holden family.
Since then I have followed every race in each season in honor of my Dad and the love he taught me for cars. I cheer on the close racing and the clean passes and wince every time a car is hurt. I hold my breath every time there is a crash, hoping the driver is OK and feeling upset over the damage to the cars, because to me, these beauties are alive too and hitting the concrete like that has to hurt.
So this year in honor of 2006, my Dad and Peter Brock, I will once again be in front of the tv, on the edge of my seat, shouting advice to drivers who can't hear me. I wish for a good race, a clean race, a great race. And this year, between the support races, I will finally cast on for my Holden shawl. Yes I know that the designer did not make this in honor of my favourite cars. I am sure that she doesn't even know that Holden cars exist. But I do and I have some red yarn. And some day soon I will have a photo of my Holden shawl on my Holden car, when I get to see her next. So please to everyone who is entered in The Great Race, good luck, race well and I hope a Holden wins!
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