Barrie Crocker, still tuning and racing cars at 73

Having just turned 73 on 13 August, Barrie is, as you might have guessed, the father of Australian rally driver Cody Crocker.

I met Cody once, back in 2009 when he was driving for Motor Image in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. Do you see a resemblance between Cody and his father?

At 73, Barrie is still actively tuning cars at his workshop Barrie Crocker Motors and also still showing the young guns how to do it with his 2005 Subaru WRX STI at the Victorian WRX Club Sprint Days. He also enjoys snow skiing (advanced runs), water skiing and jet skiing!

Visiting him at his workshop Barrie Crocker Motors, Barrie was poring over the engine of a Scooby with his eyebrows creased into a frown in deep concentration. 

Although he was hoping to get it fixed by the night, he still obligingly put aside his tools and allowed me to put him through a photoshoot with his race car and in the workshop!

He always loved playing with cars since he was in school and even paired up with his son Cody who navigated for him for a while from the age of 16 to 18 before he went on to race on his own.

I just had to ask him, when will he stop racing? He replied, “Racing has always been more of a hobby for me. When will I race until? Till I die! I will keep racing as long as my health permits. It’s hard to answer why I keep racing – it’s a strong interest and something that I can’t let go, something that I will keep going at.”

What has changed since he first started racing till now?

“From the days of racing 2WD cars, the technologies have made cars easier to drive but the sport itself, motorsports has become harder to get into as it gets more expensive,” Barrie told me.

Any plans for retirement from tuning soon? “I don’t know, hopefully in the next two years,” he said.