Wheels Australia – August 2019

STORIED HISTORY

KNOWINGRETIREMENTWASjustweeksaway,DickJohnsonwas

keentohosedownthehypewhenhetalkedtothenWheelseditor

EwenPageattheMountPanoramacircuitinOctober1999.

Still,theoptimistinhimreckonedthat,withsonSteveas

co-driver,theirAUFalconstooda fairchanceinthatyear’s

Bathurst1000.“We’rerealisticallyaimingtofinish,”the54-year-

oldJohnsontoldPageduringaninterviewthatwouldbethebasis

ofa featurefortheNovember 1999 issue.“IfeelthattheAU’s

goingtobea bloodygoodcarthere– I reallydo.”

Thedreamfinalwindidn’tmaterialise– theJohnsonsfinished

fourth,onthesamelapasthewinningGibsonMotorSport

Richards/MurphyVTCommodore– buttheirAUwasthefirst

Falconhome.

ThatSunday,November14,1999,markedtheendofa stellar

careerthatsawDickJohnson’snamereignwiththoseofPeter

BrockandAllanMoffatasthegreatmotor-racingstarsoftheera.

BetweenWheels’January 1979 andJanuary 2004 issues,

Johnsonfeaturedsignificantlyin 27 storiesinthemagazine.Some

wereprofiles,suchasPhilScott’sinsightful 1982 story,“Fromhas-

beentohero”,otherswerereportsofraceswhereJohnsonstarred.

Which,asa three-timeBathurstwinnerandfive-timeAustralian

TouringCarChampionshipwinner,wasfrequently.

ThelaconicJohnsonwasalwaysexcellentcopy.“Winton?

It’slikerunninga marathonaroundyourclothesline,”hetold

ChannelSevencommentatorMikeRaymondin1990.

OfJohnson’sfamousone-on-onerivalrywithPeterBrock,he

toldPage,“Frankly,I seewewereanassettoeachother,because

I don’tthinkeitherofuswouldhavegoneasfarwithouttheother.

“I’ma realistandhe’sa fairy-taleman.I canseethattreethere

andI say,‘it’sgrowinginthegroundandit’sgreen’,whereI think

there’sa lotofrosecolourscomingoutofit withhim.Tobeatthe

guywasallit wasabout,becausehewasthebenchmark,andif

youbeathim,youbeatthebest.”

PhilScottaccuratelycapturedthedown-to-Earth Queenslander

inhisMay 1982 story:“Hetalkslikea normal Aussie should, likes

a beer,buildshisowncarsandknowswhat it’s like to be short

ofa quid.Infact,he’stheblokenextdoor who thumbed his nose

atthebig-dollarteamsandquietlyhad a go. All these things are

true– toa point.”

Johnson,ashisopponentsquicklyrealised, was also a real

professional;well-fundedandorganised and yet somehow easy to

underestimate,perhapsbecausetheQueensland-battler image

persisted,despitethesuccess.

Almostuniquely,Pagemanagedtowrite a major Johnson story

withoutmentioningtheinfamousrock that wrecked his Bathurst

in1980.Onlap17,leadinga fieldthat included Brock, Bartlett

andCoby 30 seconds,Johnson’sFalcon hit a rock the size of an

overnightbag,causinginstantretirement.

A guttedJohnsonbelievedhewasruined. But a TV appeal,

matchedbya donationfromEdselFord II, then deputy MD of

FordAustralia,nettedJohnsonover$70,000, and helped get the

teambackonitsfeet.Johnson,ofcourse, became a national hero,

andbelovedbattler,overnight.

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“WINTON? IT’S LIKE RUNNING A MARATHON

AROUND YOUR CLOTHESLINE”