One of Australia’s biggest races - if not the biggest - would not have had its coverage further enhanced without the debut of on-board commentary.
The earliest in-car commentator at the Bathurst 1000, Peter Williamson, has died at age 78.
Williamson helped pioneer Channel 7’s coverage with a rather heavy, and ahead of its time, on-board camera that weighed more than 70 kg, with a microphone then installed for him to talk inside the car.
The concept was known as Racecam, and eventually made its way to the U.S.
“Peter was the ideal choice as Seven’s Racecam pioneer back in 1979 and he helped revolutionize in car camera coverage that we see today,” Mike Raymond, a former Channel 7 commentator, told Speedcafe.
Toyota helped contribute to Williamson’s race program from there.
A full report on Williamson’s life can be found here, via Speedcafe.