Openwheelers are for sheilas

When Allan Grice made it big in touring cars he’d already been racing openwheelers for eight years – and had nearly won an international grand prix. This is the little-known story of where it all began for Gricey – his early years in the sport before he got a roof over his head.

Story: Steve Normoyle

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"Openwheelers are for sheilas!” Allan Grice told Kevin Bartlett in front of the assembled audience at one of the Australian MUSCLE CAR Masters dinners at Eastern Creek a few years back. Grice and Bartlett were the guest speakers, and Gricey was having a playful dig at his old mate, whose career was mostly spent in openwheelers – even if many fans know him best for his exploits in the 1980s in the Channel 9 Camaro.

But in the light-hearted banter Gricey was conveniently overlooking his own openwheeler history. It wasn’t as long or as distinguished as Bartlett’s, but Grice’s time as a young single-seater driver was notable for some solid, gritty performances, often on the flimsiest of shoestring budgets. Trademark Gricey, you might say!

Of course, Grice would go on from his openwheeler origins to touring car racing superstardom – and, you might almost say, household name status. Not bad for someone who as a kid had not the slightest interest in motorsport, cars or things mechanical. In fact, Allan Grice had no ambitions whatsoever of becoming a racing driver when he grew up.