Racing legend Dick Johnson has taken to Mount Panorama to debut the new S650 Gen3 Ford Mustang which will compete in the 2023 Supercars Championship.
The new Mustang, the seventh generation of Australia’s and the world’s most-sold sports car, was unveiled on Thursday at Bathurst – with current Ford drivers salivating at the prospect of next season’s new ride.
Ford great and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner Johnson was the first to take to the track in the new car – which was adorned with his name and iconic racing number #17, no less.
Johnson, whose own team is celebrating its 1000th ATCC/Supercars race this weekend, said mid-lap to Fox Sports: “It feels absolutely fantastic.”
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Asked prior to his lap about being the first to take on the new car, he joked: “Apparently (I’ll be first) – that’s if I can get in and out.”
Johnson’s team DJR, as the homologation squad, has been responsible for building the new Mustang for Supercars’ competition, and added: “I’ve seen the amount of work that’s gone into it … they’ve done a magnificent job.”
He was also the first man to take a lap in the current Gen2 Supercars Mustang back in 2019 in Adelaide, its competitive debut.
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Veteran racer Greg Murphy, who is a wildcard entrant in the Bathurst 1000 again this year, drove the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro around the track alongside Johnson on Thursday.
He told Fox Sports as he lapped Mount Panorama that it felt fantastic, but said the key difference was the feeling of the weight of the car: “Straight away it’s the lightness! The steering is very good, the engine – just the way it feels to be accelerating, it feels lighter than the Commodore I drove this morning.”
Neil Crompton said: “It looks even better than I imagined.”
Current Ford driver Will Davison, who topped the timesheets in first practice, called the new Mustang: “Unreal. Anything that’s a Mustang has such a presence and a stance anyway. But clearly the design of this – I’ll try and take the biased goggles off – I think it’s seriously a fat looking race car. Very excited to be the first category in the world to represent this in a racing scale is pretty, pretty special.”
Two-time Bathurst runner up Cam Waters told Fox Sports: “I’ll be definitely be on the fence watching Dick drive it. The car looks absolutely amazing. I’m just really excited to get in it next year and feel it and tune it and make the most of it.”
There will be 11 of the new Mustangs racing on the 2023 grid (up from nine this year) as Walkinshaw Andretti United shift from Commodores to the new Ford.
Ford’s president of the international markets group, Dianne Craig, said: “It’s such a proud moment. It’s so great to be here, I mean what a privilege. Mustang has been around for nearly 60 years.
“The vehicle is just beautiful, we are so excited to reveal it here in Bathurst.”
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Ford Australia chief Andrew Birkic was over the moon at revealing the new ride at Mount Panorama, saying “This really is a pilgrimage and a spiritual home.’
Supercars CEO Shane Howard said: “Wow. There’s a real wow moment, isn’t it, to see this. The Mustang is a stunning road car but an incredible race car that’s been developed here.
“The fans are gonna so excited to see this hit the track at Newcastle next year.”
“We just can’t wait for this car to go racing,” he added.
