V8 drivers pay tribute to great rival

Current V8 Supercar team owner and career-long rival on the track Dick Johnson received the news from his wife while conducting a drive day, and couldn't believe what he had heard had happened to a rival he respected so much.

"You never believe those sort of things are going to happen. He's a very experienced guy; obviously everyone's vulnerable," said Johnson, a man who was loyal to Ford as Brock was to Holden.

"The number of times we raced wheel-to-wheel and never even swapped paint, you've got to have an awful lot of respect for a guy like that, and we respected each other immensely."

Holden Racing team owner and driver Mark Skaife raced against Brock for several years, as well as teaming up with Brock at Bathurst in 1997 and giving him one final fling at the Mountain in the second HRT car in 2004.

Skaife praised Brock's ability, saying: "He was the ultimate mentor in touring car racing. He was incredibly gifted; he understood the demands of the sport very well and understood what you had to do to be competitive."

"When you raced Brock you knew you were in a race. He was fair but tough, and a guy who put in 100 percent."

A driver Brock paid a huge part in nurturing was Craig Lowndes, who nearly won Bathurst at his first attempt on his way to three series titles with HRT.

Lowndes captured his first as Brock's teammate in 1996, Brock remaining closely associated with HRT throughout Lowndes' time at the team.

"It's a shock to believe that it could happen to a person that we all thought was invincible," commented Lowndes.

"He was an icon for me when I first started, and really, a mentor. I learned so much from Peter on the racetrack, behind the scenes of motor racing and just living life."

Lowndes admitted he still sought Brock's advice when he needed it, and said: "We were very good friends and [Brock's death is] something that I still can't believe."

The thoughts of 1980 Formula One world champion Alan Jones, a touring car rival of Brock's in the 1980s and 1990s, showed how highly respected Brock was as a driver.

Asked how Brock would be remembered, he said: "I think as the ultimate competitor, a very good ambassador to the sport. He was good at anything he sat his bum in, and a gentleman. And I think he'll be remembered as one of the all-time great racing drivers that this country has produced."