Throughout the majority of the Mark Larkham's career from Formula Brabham through to the pinnacle🐷 of Australi🐎an motorsport in the V8 Supercar Championship Bruce Cary was an inspiration, a friend, and one of the best engineers in the business.

Sadly last week the Australian motorsport suffered the loss of on𒅌e of its real racers and true gentlemen when Cary lost his battle with cancer.

In hono♔ur of his 'good mate and even better engineer' the Larkham Motor Sport team will be sporting black arm bands and decals for Cary on their Orrcon Racing Falcons at this weekend's round of the V8 Supercar Championship at Hidden Valley in Darwin.

Cary had worked with the best in the business throughout his long career leaving his mark on most major categories including V8 Supercars, Formula Ford, Formula Brabham🤡, Formula 3, Formula 3000, Formula 2 and Formula 1. Spending much of his career in the UK Cary worked with drivers including Nigel Mansell, Keke Rosberg, Gary and David Brabham with whom he won the 1989 British Formula 3 Championship.

Having met in 1989, Cary returned to Australia and engineered Larkham to runner-up in the 1993 Australian Gold Star Championship during a season that included some hard fought victories and titanic battles with Mark Skaife. Cary continued to work with the rising🔯 driver as he made his tra🌠nsition into the V8 Supercar Championship.

T🌄he highlight for the pair working together came in 1998 when Larkham qualified on the front row at the Gold Coast Indy carnival and went on to record victories in both races. While Cary may not have been there on the day for Larkham's career highlight pole position at Bathurst in '99 his engineering ability and specific set up certainly was.

"Bruce was a real racers engineer, in a changing world of full of computer analysts and simulation software, he knew what the car waꦛs doing and what the driver was describing to make it work... qualities that are rare," said Larkham.

"Whilst not at all ignorant of the need for modern technology, Bruce has a long history of descr🍸ibing compute💙rs as full of cochroaches and the wires full of smoke!

"Bruce hadn't been with the team on a full-time basis for a couple of years but his core values had set the benchmark and core values for the way t𝐆he engineering operations.

"His enthusiasm and dedication was infectiou🥀s to all around him."

Last year Cary assisted Barton Mawer in the Australian Formula 3 Championshi🏅p working tirelessly despite his ill health.

Larkham and the team at LMS offer their🌼 thoughts and co𝔍ndolences to the Cary family.

Both drivers finished today's opening practice session inside the top 20 with Jason Bargwanna shooting his Orrcon𝓀 R🍸acing Falcon to third in the early part of the 35-minute session before eventually finishing the session in 17th.

"We have a lot of work to be do☂n🌞e," said Bargwanna.

"It is not all doom and gloom though as while we may be 15t🎃h we are only two-teꦑnths away from the top six."

Bargwan🔥na's Orrcon Racing teammate Mark Winterbottom finished the session in a creditable 19th in his first look at the circuit.

"It didn't take long to get into the groove and lear꧋n the track," said Winterbottom.

"Before today I had driven about 4 laps in the hire car aro🌟und♎ the place but it is a bit different at 260kmh.

"I made some big improvement in my sector times by going deeper as my confidence grew, especialꦉly into tuꦿrn one."