Highlights

Motor racing legend Peter Brock to receive state funeral

(AP)
Updated: 2006-09-14 10:00

Victorian state premier Steve Bracks on Tuesday announced details of a state funeral for Australian motor racing legend Peter Brock, as police continue to investigate the rallying accident that killed him.

Brock's family had approved a state funeral in Melbourne next Tuesday and a public memorial service on September 22 at Melbourne's Sandown raceway, where the touring car champion achieved many of his finest wins, Bracks said.

Brock, 61, died last Friday when the Daytona Coupe racecar he was driving skidded off the road and struck a tree during the Targa West rally near the western Australian city of Perth.

"All Victorians and all Australians obviously want to pay tribute to Peter Brock and the legacy which he left," Bracks said.

A private service for the family and a cremation will follow the state funeral.

An autopsy on Brock's body was carried out Monday and West Australian police have retrieved an onboard computer in an effort to find out why his car slammed into a tree, killing him and injuring his co-driver, Mick Hone.