Steven Johnson will make his Enzed Touring Car Masters debut in John Bowe’s title-winning Ford Mustang later this year, if plans being hatched by the pair come to fruition.
The long-time friends are hopeful that Johnson will race the Mustang in at least one of the two upcoming meetings prior to the Sandown 500.
The move would provide Johnson with precious seat time before rejoining his father’s Dick Johnson Racing V8 Supercars team for the Pirtek Enduro Cup.
Bowe is currently working on finding another car to compete with in order to continue his campaign for a third title.
The two-time Bathurst 1000 winner sits equal with Jim Richards atop the points standings after the opening two events in Adelaide and Winton.
“The intention is for Stevie to have a drive, we’ve just got to find a way to make it happen,” Bowe told Speedcafe.com.
“He needs to do a bit of driving and since the V8s have cut back the practice time, he won’t get a lot of miles before Sandown.
“I’d like to have him in my car because the last thing I’d want is for him to be in something that’s not worthy of his ability.
“We haven’t fine tuned the details, but it could be one or two rounds. It’s just a matter of working through some options to see how we can do it.”
Johnson in turn says that driving the Mustang would undoubtedly help in preparing for the V8 Supercars events.
“Everything has to align properly for us to be able to do it, but it’d be fantastic to have a drive,” Johnson told Speedcafe.com.
“It’s a growing category that’s really popular with the fans and has fantastic cars.
“At the end of the day the cars aren’t too far away from a V8 Supercar in terms of a lot of horsepower with not much grip.
“It’d definitely help to have those race miles before the endurance events.”
The 39-year-old is also looking at other racing options as diverse as the Carrera Cup and off-road competition in the coming months.
“There are a few other opportunities I’m working on, but I’ve got to make sure that whatever I do, I’ve got to make sure there’s time to do it properly,” he said.
“You can’t just jump into a series and expect to be at the front if you haven’t tested or you’re doing seat fittings at the track.
“That’s the same with John’s car. I’d hope we can go to Winton and have a test first.”
Johnson has been out of a full-time V8 Supercars seat since the beginning of last year, where he stepped down from DJR amid a cash shortfall.
He competed in a handful of Carrera Cup races in 2013 before impressing aboard Erebus Motorsport’s #9 Mercedes in the enduros.
Although out of a V8 Supercars drive for a second consecutive year, Johnson says he hasn’t given up on making a full-time return in 2015.
“There’s no doubt that I’ve still got a lot to offer and it just comes down to being at the right place in the right time,” he said.
“The last couple of years we’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but we’re definitely still looking at getting into the main series full-time.
“Failing that, it would be great to be in Carrera Cup or Aus GT for a full season. It’ll just come down to working hard to get the sponsorship together.”
