Dick Johnson’s history making Ford Mustang will return to the scene of its only success at the Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival nearly-40 years after the event.
The internationally recognised Group A regulations debuted in Australia for season 1985 and Johnson was forced to change from his regular Ford Falcon to the Zakspeed-developed Mustang.
Johnson was a frontrunner during the inaugural season although the JPS BMW team had the jump on of all its rivals to dominate the Australian Touring Car Championship with Jim Richards.
A lack of development hampered Johnson early, but by the time the touring car circus was ready to support the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide it was a worthy challenger to the BMW 635csi.
In a field, which countered Grand Prix driver Gerhard Berger on the entry list, Johnson was able to score the maiden victory for his Greens Tuff Mustang in Adelaide. It was the second of Johnson’s two Mustangs to debut and led to a dominant display from pole position.
Racing the Mustang through 1986, Johnson was a contender although the writing was on the wall by the end of the season regarding turbocharged entries.
Luckily, Ford was developing the XR4ti or later to be known as the Sierra in Europe for competition and Johnson joined the turbocharger brigade in 1987.
The Mustang highlights a crucial part of Johnson’s career at the start of the Group A era, with it proving a stop-gap between Falcon and Sierra as it kept the Queensland legend in touring car competition.
It is now part of the Bowden family’s extensive collection.
The Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival is scheduled for March 8-9 and will feature a wide array of motoring future, now and past.