MOTORSPORT: Dick Johnson to drive Ford Mustang Supercar

Three Ford motorsport heroes led by touring car icon Dick Johnson will take to the track in Adelaide next week to celebrate the Mustang’s debut in the Supercars championship.

Johnson, the five-time touring car champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner, will be behind the wheel for the Supercars racing version of the Mustang’s first laps at a championship event next Thursday.

He will be joined by retired two-time V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose in a 2019 model NASCAR Mustang racer, while defending Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin will drive a Mustang GT road car uprated with Ford Performance parts.

All three driver are connected with DJR Team Penske, the homologation team for the new Supercars Mustang.

Johnson is a co-owner, Ambrose was its first driver after US motor racing mogul Roger Penske bought in and McLaughlin is the team’s current star driver and reigning Supercar champion .

The outing is also a celebration of Ford Performance, the blue oval’s in-house road and race tuning house. It designed the Mustang NASCAR and played a key role in developing the Supercars Mustang’s body and aerodynamic performance.

Six Mustangs will debut on track in Adelaide, replacing the Ford Falcon FG X in the Virgin Australia Supercar Championship.

Johnson will drive a modern-day Supercar for the first time in Adelaide and his first laps of a race track in over a decade. The Mustang, a DJRTP spare, will be wrapped in Ford Performance warpaint.

“When I was approached with the concept, the first question I asked was ‘what’s the lap record?’,” said Johnson.

“But seriously, it’s been a long time since I’ve been behind the wheel of a full-spec Supercar, and to get the chance to drive the new Mustang is something I’m very much looking forward to.”

Johnson won in his Group A Ford Mustang at the Adelaide track in the 1985 Adelaide Grand Prix support race.

Ambrose was the first Australian to win a NASCAR race at the highest level, winning three times during his NASCAR career. He is the only Australian driver to achieve victory in the highly competitive series.

“It’s a great pleasure to come back to Adelaide as a part of this great Ford initiative,” said Ambrose.

“It’s a track that I remember very fondly, having won a few races there in the past. Doing it in a NASCAR is going to be completely different for me, but I’m really looking forward to it.

“The run-up Bartels Road and into Turn Eight is going to be pretty eye-opening, I reckon.”

The Ford Performance ‘Parade of Champions’ will run three times across the Adelaide 500 weekend on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.