The Ford Mustang raced by Dick Johnson in the first year of Group A touring cars will be on track at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival on March 16 and 17.
Johnson drove the Group A Mustang in the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1985, after entering the car as a reserve entry at the 1984 Bathurst 1000. Â
Â
When Australian touring cars moved away from the locally-derived Group C regulations to the international-based Group A rules in 1985, Johnson was forced to park his Falcons for the Mustang that was built by German team Zakspeed for European competition. Dick Johnson Racing ran the five-litre V8 powered Mustangs over the course of the 1985 and 1986 seasons, before the introduction of the Ford Sierra in 1987.
Â
Johnson drove the second of his two Mustangs to victory in the non-championship Group A touring car support race at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix on the Adelaide Street Circuit. It was significant as not only the first for a touring car at the Adelaide Street Circuit that hosted the Australian Grand Prix and Adelaide 500 but also as the only win for the Group A Mustang in Australia.
Â
The Ford Mustang Group A is the first car announced for the Heritage Touring Cars category at the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival, with more classic touring cars being announced soon. The Heritage Touring Cars category will run alongside the V8 Supercars and the PremiAir Hire Bathurst winners’ categories at the event, with the Bathurst-winning Nissan Skyline GT-R R32s and Holden VH Commodore SS already announced for the latter.
Â
Categories featuring Formula 1, V8 Supercars, Group C and A touring cars, sportscars, IndyCars and more will again feature over the course of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, with more news on categories, star cars and drivers and on and off-track activations coming soon.
Â
Cars and motorbikes also confirmed for the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival include the famed Mazda 767B sportscar; the Australian Grand Prix-winning Benetton B190 Ford; and motorcycle grand prix bikes, the Yamaha YZR 500cc and Aprilia ART GP13, while Finnish Formula 1 race winner Valtteri Bottas will be at the event on Sunday March 17.
CLICK HEREÂ to purchase tickets to the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival.