When legendary rock band Kiss first toured Australia in 1980, Nick Percat was another eight years from being born.
While Kiss have completed several world tours and even a much anticipated reunion tour since that inaugural Australian visit, Percat has not only entered the world, he has set his own mark in the cut-throat world of motorsport.
The Adelaide-born speedster turned plenty of heads when he won the 2009 Australian Formula Ford Championship, but rocketed to fame two years later when he won the Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at his first attempt in a Holden with Garth Tander.
He drove in the Dunlop Development Series as part of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide last year and will be back in front of a "home" crowd this weekend after clinching a last-minute deal in the Porsche Carrera Cup with the local Team BRM outfit with the support of Coates Hire.
While he will be keen to catch up with family and friends after hours this week, Percat will be hanging around on Sunday night to catch Kiss and Motely Crue in action at the biggest post-race concert ever seen in Adelaide.
"The Clipsal 500 is obviously my favourite race of the year because the organisers really know how to put on a show," said Percat.
"Kiss are really like rock royalty, so getting the chance to see them play is going to be cool.
"Hopefully we can celebrate at the concert after a couple of solid races in the new Coates Hire Porsche."
Percat took his preparation for this weekend to another level yesterday when he decided to pay tribute to Kiss frontman, the infamous blood spitting, fire-breathing, lizard-tounged Gene Simmons.
The 24 year-old spent a couple of hours under the pencils of a local make-up artist and went through a few cans of hairspray to make sure his hair was "just right".
"When it comes to rock and roll, Gene Simmons is one of the greats," said Percat.
"The passion of a band like Kiss to still be playing as hard as they do after all these years is just amazing.
"After the effort we made to get the make-up and hair right for this bit of a stunt, I now realise what an effort it must be just to get ready for a concert night after night.
"I cannot wait to see their show on Sunday night and I am sure Motley Crue will also give us a pretty good show."
The Clipsal 500 will be the opening round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, which will include Nissan and Mercedes Benz entries for the first time, along with Ford and Holden.
The weekend line-up:
Friday 1 March: Hilltop Hoods, Drapht, Illy, Pez and two local bands selected
by Music SA presented by Radio Nova 91.9.
Saturday 2 March: The Angels, Ian Moss and two local bands selected by
Music SA presented by Radio Mix102.3FM.
Sunday 3 March: Kiss, Motley Crue and a local band selected by Music SA
presented by Radio Mix 102.3FM.
