Mark Larkham
| Mark Larkham | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born |
29 December 1963 Benalla |
| ATCC / V8 Supercar | |
| Years active | 1995-2004 |
| Teams | Larkham Motor Sport |
| Starts | 104 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Best finish | 11th in 1998 Australian Touring Car Championship |
| Previous series | |
| 1988-89 1990 1990-93 |
Formula Ford Series Australian Production Cars Australian Drivers' Champ. |
| Championship titles | |
| 1989 1993 |
Formula Ford Series Indonesian Grand Prix |
Mark Larkham (born 29 December 1963 in Benalla, Victoria) is a retired Australian racing driver, former racing team owner and television commentator.
Mark Larkham's first impressions on the national racing spotlight was finishing fifth in the 1988 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series. The following year with the support of the front running Coffey Ford team, Larkham won the 1989 series creating an early rivalry with Russell Ingall. This was highlighted by their first corner clash at Mallala where Larkham and Ingall collided.
Forming his own Larkham Motor Sport team, Larkham made a brief attempt at running a Ford EA Falcon in the 1991 Australian Production Car Championship and returned to open-wheelers at the wheel of a Ralt RT20 in Formula Brabham. In his first season Larkham finished third in the 1991 Australian Drivers' Championship and was the only driver to take a win away from Mark Skaife. The following year Larkham imported a Reynard 90D, the first driver to exploit the relaxation of Formula Brabham rules which had previously prevented cars constructed of carbon-fibre. It was not enough to defeat Skaife however and Larkham ended runner up.
In 1993 Larkham again raced head-to-head with Skaife, now also sporting a carbon-fibre car, and again Larkham lost the title to Skaife. Larkham did however claim Formula Brabham's first international event, the 1993 Indonesian Grand Prix.
Larkham's first foray into touring car racing came at the 1989 Pepsi 300 at the Oran Park Raceway in Sydney where he was to co-drive a 560 hp (418 kW; 568 PS) Ford Sierra RS500 with nine time Bathurst winner Peter Brock. Brock qualified the car on pole, but Larkham didn't get to drive as the car was retired with a suspected blown head gasket after only 13 of the 100 laps. Larkham stayed with the Mobil 1 Racing team for the 1989 .05 – 500 at Sandown where he was to drive the teams second Sierra alongside Brad Jones. After Brock's own car again failed to finish (after leading the first third of the race), the team boss joined Jones and Larkham in the #105 car, going on to finish 7th outright. Larkham missed a place in the team for that years Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst when the team was joined by British Sierra expert Andy Rouse. The Brock team had switched to Sierra's at the start of 1989 using car's purchased from Rouse with part of the deal being that the multiple BTCC winner would be Brock's co-driver at Bathurst. Co-driving with Jones in the car Larkham drove at Sandown was young Kiwi hotshot Paul Radisich who unlike Larkham had previous Bathurst experience. Larkham would not make his Bathurst debut for another 6 years.
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