Bathurst 1000: Ford legend Dick Johnson’s brutal send-off message for Holden

It is the end of an epic Bathurst rivalry, but Ford legend Dick Johnson won’t be upset at seeing the last of Holden at Mount Panorama this weekend.

Dick Johnson.

It is the final frontier of an epic mountain rivalry but Ford racing legend Dick Johnson has no sympathy whatsoever for the end of the Holden era ahead of this week’s final appearance at the Bathurst 1000 for the iconic Australian motorsport brand.

With Holden set to exit the Supercars series at the end of 2022 ahead of the switch to Gen3 cars and the introduction of the Chevrolet Camaro, Johnson could not resist taking a subtle swipe at his red rivals after decades of fierce battles on and off the track.

The iconic rivalry will draw to a close at year’s end and while Holden’s final appearance at Mount Panorama is set to evoke an emotional farewell from their hardcore fans, Johnson said he would not lose any sleep over the fact Holden is headed for the exit.

“Absolutely not. Not at all,” he said with a smirk.

“There’s blue and red people out there everywhere and although it’s a shame to see the Australian part of it (Holden) disappear – no, not at all.

“The thing about the blue oval is that it’s on every single car they ever made – except the Mustang. But the thing is, the Mustang is known to be a Ford. It’s iconic, it’s their flagship.

“General Motors, well, sure it’s a GM, but they name their vehicles Chevrolet, Pontiac, Holden and whatever. With Ford it’s always been Ford.

“For us to go from the Falcon to the Mustang was an easy transition. But for Holden to go to a Chevrolet, even though they’re the same company, I think that’s a big difference.”

Will Davison (left) and Anton De Pasquale (right) standing beside team boss Dick Johnson.

The Bathurst 1000 is a race built on some of Australia’s most iconic sporting moments and for Johnson this weekend is no different.

Johnson will create history when he becomes the first man to drive the Gen3 Mustang around Bathurst in a special unveiling at Mount Panoram on Thursday.

“My team and I have been racing Fords for more than forty years, we are very proud representatives of and ambassadors for the Blue Oval,” said Johnson.

“We have been working extremely hard on making this car the best it can possibly be over the last couple of years, and to be the first person in the world to drive it after all of that work is fantastic. Any chance to drive around Mount Panorama is incredible, but to do it in Ford’s latest race car is an opportunity I simply couldn’t pass up.

“I can’t wait to drive the Mustang and see the fans across the top of the Mountain, it’s going to be very special indeed.”

The peoples’ champion will then create history with his DJR team as they meet the chequered flag for a record 1000th time this weekend.

That the historic bow will come on the famous Mount Panorama stage is both fitting and deserved for a man and team that has helped shape the Australian motorsport landscape for the better part of half a century.

As a driver who often led races from the front he prefers to look forward rather than in the rear-view but with the Great Race looming and a record race tally in sight, Johnson allowed himself time for reflection after crowd-funding helped get him back on track following his infamous 1980 Bathurst rock incident.

“It just shows the longevity of something that started off in a very weird way but ended up becoming a career which was always a dream but certainly never planned,” the 77-year-old told News Corp.

“It was always a day-to-day operation. If it worked, fine, but if it didn’t, well, I would have to find a way to make it work.

“I stuck my neck out and fortunately, it worked – number one because I was passionate about it and wanted to succeed, though I never expected it to grow the way it has. But it’s the people in it, and wanting to do the right thing by those people who put you where you are, that’s the most important thing to me.”

Johnson’s fledgling racing years began behind the wheel of a Holden FJ but he has become synonymous with Ford’s famous blue badge.

When his home-built Ford XD Falcon famously hit the rock while leading Bathurst in 1980 it was Edsel Ford and the Australian public that came to the rescue and ensured his dream remained alive.

Former driver John Harvey (L) with Peter Brock (C) & Dick Johnson before final race of deciding round of 1981 Australian Touring championship.

That watershed moment marked Johnson as a lifelong Ford fanatic and it’s in the brand’s iconic Mustang that he hopes the team’s fifth Bathurst 1000 title will arrive on Sunday.

“It would be pretty special, mate. It would be like Geelong winning the grand final.”

The Cats duly saluted on the September stage with the blue badge emblazoned proudly on their hoops and now it’s on Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale to deliver DJR a drive worthy of winning the Great Race on a day of incredible significance.

Bathurst hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the team in recent years but Johnson is quietly confident that will change this weekend.

“When you look at our performances over the last four or five race meetings – we came out of Darwin in a good position,” he said.

“Townsville has never been good for us at all, but our cars were pretty damn good. We’ve never been good at Pukekohe before but we were in the recent races over there.

An artist impression of the Camaro.

“Bathurst in the last few years our performances there have been lacklustre. But we’ve found certain things in the cars that I believe will really show their potential.

Three-times a champion of the Great Race, Johnson knows better than any how difficult it is to win on the mountain.

His team boasts an incredible 147 race wins, 308 podiums, 10 Drivers Championships and 3 Teams Championships over 41 years – and just four Bathurst 1000 victories.

“Since 1964 as a kid I used to go down to Bathurst. We would drive down on Friday night, sit up on the hill and watch the whole race, then drive home Sunday night for work Monday,” Johnson said.

“It’s the event that’s our grand final. Even though it’s just one event, just one part of the championship, it’s the race that everyone remembers. What other race keeps you there for six and a half hours glued to a TV?

“There’s quite a lot of really good drivers over the years who have won all sorts of things but if you haven’t won Bathurst, your career isn’t complete. It’s one of those events you have to win.

“For a jockey it’s the Melbourne Cup. This is our Melbourne Cup.

“With the championship you have to be consistent. But you can have a failure and still win a championship. With Bathurst you only get one shot at it. You can’t afford to have a mistake.”

Originally published as Bathurst 1000: Ford legend Dick Johnson’s brutal send-off message for Holden