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Skaife inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame

By Thomas Miles

Five-time Supercars champion Mark Skaife is one of just eight new inductees into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Across a 479-race career from 1987-2011 Skaife rewrote the record books.

He announced himself at Gibson Motorsport, going back to back at Bathurst with Jim Richards in the Nissan “Godzilla” GT-R in 1991 and 1992.

In the same year as the infamous wet race, Skaife won his first ATCC title before backing it up in a Holden Commodore in 1994.

Skaife made the move to the Holden Racing Team in 1997 and they became an unbeatable force, taking a hat-trick of championships from 2000-2002.

During that time he also recorded back to back Great Race wins again with Tony Longhurst in 2001 and fittingly Richards in the “Golden Child” in 2002.

He continued to be a regular force at the front of the field despite owning HRT for a period in the mid 2000s before his full-time retirement in 2008.

Skaife had one last crowning moment at Mount Panorama with HRT by taking the 2005 Bathurst 1000 alongside Todd Kelly.

He carried on as a co-driver and again lifted the Peter Brock Trophy for a sixth time with Craig Lowndes in 2010.

At the time of his retirement Skaife had the record for the most Supercars/ATCC wins with 90, equal most championships with five alongside Dick Johnson and Ian Geoghegan and the third most Great Race wins.

Not only being a legendary Supercars driver, but also commentator, circuit designer, team owner and former RACE board member Skaife is one of the biggest figures ever on the sport.

As a result he has become just the 10th motor racing member of the hall of fame, joining Australia’s first F1 world champion Sir Jack Brabham, nine time Bathurst winner Peter Brock, his arch rival Alan Moffat, 1980 F1 world champion Alan Jones, nine-time GP winner Mark Webber, 1969 250cc champion Kel Carruthers, plus Australian MotoGP/500cc champions Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and Casey Stoner.

“When I looked at the website and started to contemplate people who are in there, it made me honoured to be part of the same group,” Skaife said. 

“I’ve been fortunate to be in the motor sport Hall of Fame and the Hall of Fame for Supercars, but in the context of where car racing sits in the wider landscape of sport, and seeing the illustrious motor sport names in there, it’s overwhelming in some ways. 

“I desperately wanted to be the best, I desperately wanted to win each weekend, and I was in terms of preparation in that era the most prepared to do that. 

“So I think that level of commitment was probably the biggest thing that stood out.”

Alongside Skaife, three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning, former Kookaburras’ captain Mark Knowles, lawn bowls player Karen Murphy, London 2012 Olympics hurdles gold medallist Sally Pearson, and dual-sport Paralympics champion Liesl Tesch have also been nominated.

Entering the Hall of Fame as general members are sports administrator Gerry Ryan and basketball administrator Betty Watson.

Image: Motorsport Images

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