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DICK JOHNSON’S LAST SHELL SIERRA RETURNS TO BATHURST
THREE-TIME Bathurst 1000 winner Dick Johnson is a legend of Mount Panorama and one of his famous Shell Ford Sierras will return to Bathurst this Easter as part of the Heritage Touring Cars event at the Bathurst Motor Festival.Victorian driver Chris Stillwell recently purchased the turbocharged Ford Sierra RS500 and will give the car its first Mountain race in over two decades this weekend.The last of six Sierras built by Johnson’s Queensland-based team, Stillwell’s car competed at Bathurst in the hands of Johnson and co-driver John Bowe in 1990 and 1991.Johnson drove it in the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship before it also took part in the infamous wet 1992 Bathurst 1000 raced by Terry Shiel and Greg Crick and driven in practice by avery young Cameron McConville.The car was sold to Western Australia when Australian touring car racing reverted to a Holden versus Ford V8 format for the 1993 season.Reigning Touring Car Masters ProSports Champion Stillwell will have his first race in the car at Bathurst at the April 3-5 event.”We’ve spent some time testing at Winton and learning about the car – they are the sort of machine that don’t really come with an instruction book!” says Stillwell.”We’re pretty happy with how it’s gone. The car drives incredibly well.”Stillwell’s Sierra will compete among a 40-car field of genuine ex-Bathurst 1000 cars that competed in both the Group C (1973-1984) and Group A (1985-1992) eras of the October classic.The field includes 1966 Bathurst 500 winner Bob Holden who, at age 82, continues to compete in his ex-Group A Toyota Corolla.The Heritage Touring Cars will contest three, non-championship 25-minute races across the Easter weekend