Five-time Repco Supercars Championship winner and six-time Bathurst 1000 victor Mark Skaife will be the sixth motor racing representative in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Skaife is one of eight inducted this weekend alongside Olympic Gold Medal hurdler Sally Pearson, World Surfing Champion Mick Fanning, former Kookaburras’ skipper Mark Knowles, Karen Murphy from Lawn Bowls, Paralympian Liesl Tesch, Philanthropist Gerry Ryan and the late Betty Watson highlighting her work in basketball.
The likes of Sir Donald Bradman are featured in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, with Skaife joining the likes of former Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champions Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, fellow Australian Touring Car Championship winners Peter Brock and Allan Moffat in addition to Grand Prix victor Mark Webber.
“It does feel incredibly humbling because it’s one of those ones where you go through your sporting career, you don’t really know what that journey looks like, and to end up with this induction is a great honour,” said Skaife.
“When you read out some of those names that you just referred to, it’s extraordinary. In racing-land, it’s basically Brock, Moffat, and Sir Jack Brabham who was such a superstar in Formula 1.”
Born in Gosford, Skaife began his career in a Holden Torana GTR XU-1 Sports Sedan before joining the Ford Laser one-make series where he came to the attention of Fred Gibson, team owner of the Nissan factory team.
Upon moving to Melbourne, Skaife won the Under 2.0-litre Australian Touring Car Championship in 1987 and gradually was elevated to the main driver roster piloting the Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R, but success came in the follow up.
Spearheading the development of the HR31’s successor, the GT-R.
Winning two Bathursts and a ATCC title in addition to multiple Australian Drivers’ Championship Gold Star, including securing all the same year in 1992.
A second title followed in 1994 before switching to the all conquering Holden Racing Team for the 1997 endurance events leading to further success in three ATCC titles and two Bathurst titles.
Retiring from full-time competition in 2008 after recording the then-most round victories, Skaife turned to co-driving first at Tasman Motorsport before moving to Triple Eight Race Engineering where he and Craig Lowndes greeted the flag in 2010.
Skaife has transitioned to the commentary box alongside Neil Crompton, which he still holds to this day.