Dick Johnson enjoys first V8 drive since retirement
9/11/2004 18:55 (Press Release) -
It wasn't a race and there was no pressure to perform so Dick Johnson thoroughly enjoyed his drive at Indy today. Driving his famous 17 Shell Helix Ford, the car driven by Steve Johnson and Warren Luff at this year's endurance events, Dick Johnson took two lucky people on the ride of their lives.
Today's ride was Dick's first drive at a V8 event since his retirement.
"I really enjoyed driving at Indy today, it was a lot of fun," Dick Johnson said.
"It's been a long time since I've done anything like, I felt a little rusty on my first lap but it all came back to me pretty quickly.
"I reckon I was close to Skaife's 1:50.37 by my second lap," he joked.
Johnson's lap of the Indy track was auctioned off on e-bay with the winning bidder's money going to breast cancer research.
"I was asked to do the lap for charity and it's pretty hard to say no to something as important as breast cancer research," Johnson said.
"Breast cancer is a diabolical disease for all women, and their families, if this money helps shorten the time to find a cure then that is good for everyone."
$4500 was raised for the charity.
Johnson got to experience first hand how the new BA model Ford performs on the racetrack.
"Gee you really need to get heat into your tyres and brakes," Johnson said.
"When cold it's pretty ordinary, but once you have some heat happening it's impressive.
"I'm quite happy to leave the driving to today's professionals, but I did enjoy the experience."
Release Date: 23/10/2004
Dick Johnson Racing - Shell Helix
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