The tragic thing is that Peter Brock was killed in a car crash today, which is undoubtedly going to overshadow Steve Irwin’s death…
Never heard of him.
Famous (in Australia) race car driver. Although I didn’t much like him (but of course sorry he has died), he was the Bradman or Babe Ruth of car racing in this country, with a record that will be difficult to match. He didn’t make a name for himself internationally outside of the enthusiast community (no F1, NASCAR, etc), so it’s not surprising you don’t know him.
Amongst Australians, he would generally (until very recently) have been better known than Irwin - most of us only got the depth of Irwin-mania by reading the SDMB!
Peter Brock lived near me. He is very well known locally as a genuine nice guy often seen at the local shops and personally involved in local charity. But as an Australian with no interest in car racing, I really don’t know much about him and would not be alone in that. I don’t see him in the same league as Steve Irwin in terms of fame for the simple reason that most younger people have never heard of him. Everyone I meet is talking about Steve Irwin, with hugely varying opinions, but all shocked and saddened by his death. They all know a fair bit about him. Many are really suprised by how big his followng is overseas as it seems to be much more than here.
Having just written a natural science book for adults titled ‘Crocodile: evolution’s greatest survivor’ , I heard about his death when my publishers rang to ask for an urgent update of the references to him ready for it to go to print next week. Crocodiles are extraordinary animals and Steve Irwin made sure the world knew it.
So it’s been a strange week!