It must seem like old times for three-time Bathurst 1000 champion Dick Johnson at Mount Panorama this weekend – for better or worse.
Thirty years after Johnson’s “Green Meanie” suffered a horror crash in qualifying, a Falcon commemorating the Ford legend’s trademark design also came off second best with the mountain in dramatic fashion on Friday.
But 33 years after more than $40,000 was raised to help Johnson recover from his now infamous Great Race tangle with a rock, the public has again responded in his hour of need.
Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) are under the pump to repair lead driver Chaz Mostert’s Falcon in time for Sunday’s 161-lap epic.
DJR’s two Fords had adopted his 1983 paint design for this year’s Bathurst assault to mark 30 years since Johnson first donned the distinct green at the mountain.
Unfortunately it also marked 30 years since Johnson crashed out in qualifying, hitting trees at 150 km/h and forcing his crew to launch a frantic 24 hour search for a new vehicle ahead of the Great Race.
Not that Johnson had to be reminded.
His 1983 replacement car has taken pride of price outside DJR’s garage at Bathurst this weekend.
This weekend’s massive repair bill has been dramatically reduced by fans buying the damaged parts as souvenirs.
“It’s a $100,000 crash …(but) people have been ringing up wanting to buy the old bits and we’ve sold pretty much most of them, which is a good thing,” Johnson told speedcafe website.
It mirrored the public reaction to Johnson’s 1980 prang when someone – still unknown to this day – rolled a rock onto the track which he struck at 150 km/h in his Falcon, then resplendent in blue.
After a broke Johnson’s shattered response was seen on national television, the Bathurst 1000 live telecast suddenly doubled as a fundraiser as more and more money was pledged by the public.
In all, about $42,000 was raised for Johnson who went on to win the touring car championship the next year – the first of five titles that made him a household name.