Steven Johnson is hopeful that an impressive performance in this weekend’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 will put him well and truly on the radar for a return to full-time driving in 2014.

This year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup marks the 39-year-old’s first serious foray outside of his father’s Dick Johnson Racing outfit, for which he drove 13 full-time seasons.

Stepping out of the cash-strapped DJR on the eve of the Clipsal 500, Johnson is this year a co-driver in the Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast events at Erebus Motorsport alongside German V8 Supercars rookie Maro Engel.

Johnson was the only co-driver selected to take the wheel during Friday qualifying at Bathurst; with the decision to sideline Engel made just half an hour before the session began.

The SP Tools Mercedes ended the 40 minutes 16th on the time sheets, just 0.2s down on the sister IRWIN-backed entry of Lee Holdsworth.

Buoyed by the result and the faith instilled in him by Erebus, Johnson told Speedcafe.com that the decision to move away from DJR for the enduros is paying off.

“It’s been very different for me; I think there’s more motivation there now,” he said of driving with Erebus.

“If you take the motorsport aspect out of it and we were a father and son with a trucking company or a sugar cane farm or whatever and we’d been working together for a long time, to cut yourself off from that and work with somebody else, it’s a big deal.

“You don’t know how it’s going to turn out and if it doesn’t work, will the family team have you back?

“You just don’t know, but I think it was important for me in the situation I was in… DJR realises that what I did this year with stepping out of the car was only to help them continue as a business.

“There are a lot of punters that have said to me we wish you were in #17, but the reality is with the market that it wouldn’t have worked.

“DJR are better off with me not there and I think I’m better off personally standing on my own two feet with a whole new team.

“It was important for me to get out and make this big step. I’m giving this 110 percent and I really hope it leads to something for the future.”

Whether or not Johnson’s Pirtek Enduro Cup campaign with Erebus leads to something more remains to be seen.

Erebus is yet to commit to the number of cars it will run next season, with a downsizing to two cars appearing a distinct possibility if attempts to lure Will Davison from Ford Performance Racing are unsuccessful.

Although Chaz Mostert being recalled to Ford Performance Racing could also provide an opening back at DJR, Johnson says that, all being equal, he’d prefer to remain out of the family fold.

“To be honest I’m really happy here at Erebus, they’ve been great for me and very supportive, which really showed in them handing me the keys for qualifying,” he said.

“They obviously have a long way to go to cement their 2014 plans, be it two cars, three cars, four cars, but I’m doing whatever I can to do the best job for Erebus to hopefully stay on their radar for next year and beyond.

“There’s definitely a chance I could be driving at DJR next year, but that’s all going to depend on sponsorship and what happens with a lot of variables there,” he continued.

“All I can say right now is that if I was to get an equal offer from both teams, I’d probably choose where I’m at right now to be able to better myself as a person.

“You haven’t got that protection of your family there having your back the whole time. At the moment I’m here and getting the job done and if I don’t I’ll get my arse kicked.

“It’s all a big learning curve and it’s something that can only better me as a person, as well as a driver. Nobody can use that ‘he’s only there because he’s Dick’s son’ line anymore.

“The drivers and co-drivers here at Erebus are all high quality and, to base myself against all of those guys having not raced for the year, I’m very happy with how it’s working.”

In the meantime, Johnson is optimistic of scoring a strong result in the Erebus Mercedes’ Bathurst debut, despite high fuel consumption and a lack of bottom-end power both appearing set to count against the E63s in the race

“It’s going to be difficult,” he said of Sunday.

“We’re not too bad down Conrod, but out of Hell, Griffins and The Cutting we’re struggling with the lack of low-down torque.

“We’ll be as quick as anyone across the top and coming down the Mountain I think, but it’s going to be very hard for us to pass anyone into Griffins.

“But you never know in these races. If we can have good tyre life we might be able to pass people late in the stints.

“We really won’t know how these cars will race in a pack here until the first few stints have unfolded.”