The Ford Falcon FG that DJR campaigned in 30th anniversary retro Greens’-Tuf colours at the 2013 Bathurst 1000 has finally met the legendary XE that inspired it.
The two cars are sitting side-by-side at the Phillip Island Classic, where the XE will be competing in the Heritage Touring Car races.
The 1983 XE is known as ‘the overnight car’, having been acquired for Johnson to contest that year’s Great Race after the Queenslander destroyed his regular mount in Hardies Heroes.
It’s been owned by Leo Khouri since 2005 and, following a full mechanical restoration, returned to racing last year with son Jacob at the wheel.
The Ford mad family snapped up the FG around four years ago and tasked the restoration to Tickford Racing, which brought it to the circuit for a shakedown today.
DJR was a customer of Tickford back in 2013 in a deal that included the loan of young gun Chaz Mostert and engineer Adam De Borre.
“The opportunity came about to buy the FG when it was being raced by the Chahda family in Super2 as an FG X,” Leo Khouri told Speedcafe.
“We bought it off the owner who leased it to them. When we got it back it was a bit of a mess and we decided to have Tickford take it back to FG.
“It was a big job sourcing all the parts. We would have shaken it down earlier but just getting an ECU from Supercars was a bit of a nightmare, there’s a lot of restrictions on those.”
The car in question is DJR’s first Car of the Future specification machine, built when the team was at its lowest ebb ahead of the 2013 season.
It was also a key pillar in the team’s revival as Mostert drove it to his maiden career win – and DJR’s first in years – at Queensland Raceway that season.
The car hung around long enough to become the first podium finisher of the DJR Team Penske era too, achieving that feat in the hands of Scott Pye at Pukekohe in 2016.
But its weekend spent in those iconic green colours at Bathurst 30 years after Johnson’s crash through the trees at Forrest’s Elbow is its true claim to fame.
Remarkably, Mostert almost repeated Johnson’s fate as he crashed heavily at Reid Park during Friday practice.
The car was the subject of an overnight rebuild and went on to finish the Great Race in 21st place, having lost five laps with a starter motor failure.
“It was a bit of deja vu,” said Khouri of Mostert’s crash. “Now the two cars are finally together.”
DJR revealed its tribute FG at Bathurst in 2013 alongside Dick Johnson’s 1984 championship-winning XE, but Khouri affirms it’s never been alongside the ’83 car until now.
The Khouri family has a large collection of Ford road and race cars and are only too pleased to share them with the public.
“I don’t profess to own any of them. I’m just a custodian to look after them and allow people to enjoy seeing them racing,” added Khouri.
“The XE is just roaring thunder and for me, I got that car when my son was a teenager, and to see him driving it on track is awesome.
“That car is a credit to Chad Parrish, who got everything right, down to the very fine detail. He’s had a big part in our racing collection and he loves what he does.”
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