Erebus Signs Steven Johnson for Enduros
Veteran Ford pilot Steven Johnson has signed to drive an Erebus Motorsport prepared Mercedes in the V8 Supercar endurance events later this year. Steven, the son of V8 Supercar legend Dick Johnson, has only raced outside of his father’s team a handful of times throughout his 189 V8 Supercar starts.
The Gold Coast-based Erebus Motorsport outfit announced on Tuesday that Maro Engel would share driving duties with the 39 year-old Queenslander at the Sandown, Bathurst and the Gold Coast rounds of the championship. Johnson has almost exclusively driven for Ford throughout his long career in the category, and he has expressed excitement at the opportunity to pilot the #9 SP Tools E-Class Mercedes.
In a team statement, Johnson affirmed that “Today’s announcement about me driving for Erebus Motorsport V8 in the endurance series is really exciting for me. It’s going to be very interesting for me to see how another team operates and I’m hoping this will help me further develop as a driver. Working with new people and forging new relationships in such a short time is going to be an enjoyable challenge.”
“In the past I’ve been renowned as an endurance specialist, so I’m expecting to do well. I think the SP Tools Racing entry will have some strong results over the endurance series. Maro has certainly done a lot of racing in his career and he is a world-class driver. Hopefully I can help him learn the tracks, in particular Bathurst, but I’m sure there are many things he can also teach me”.
In reference to his role as general manager at Dick Johnson Racing, Johnson revealed “[the] decision not to drive at DJR was a big one, but I believe the opportunities the team has to develop young talent will be a big focus as DJR re-emerges. I will have no other hats on and I can concentrate 100% on doing the best job I can with the Erebus team and with Maro.”
Rookie Maro Engel was similarly satisfied with the signing of Steven Johnson ahead of his first taste of V8 Supercar endurance events.
“I think I’ll be able to learn a lot from Steve so I’ll be listening very carefully to all his advice and comments” Engel said. “In terms of car development, I think he will also be able to give us great feedback as he has driven a number of new V8 Supercars over the years.”
Erebus Motorsport CEO, Ryan Maddison, asserted that Johnson’s extensive experience at Mount Panorama can only be beneficial for Engel on his visit to the circuit as a V8 Supercar driver.
“I think the rookie and veteran combination of Maro and Steven will work very well and their individual strengths will complement each other as they work closely together over the next few months. With 18 Bathurst’s to his name there are few who can support Maro in his first year the way that Steven will”.
Johnson stepped aside from his driving role at Dick Johnson Racing at the end of 2012, and has taken up the position of General Manager for the struggling Queensland-based outfit. He has, however, continued competitive driving in the Australian Carrera Cup series in preparation for the endurance events later in the year.
Engel currently sits 27th in the standings as he seeks to further adapt to the V8 Supercar championship having competed in DTM and open-wheelers in the past. His best qualifying result came at Barbagallo where he started 9th, while he achieved a best race result of 20th at Pukekohe.
The first endurance event of the 2013 season will take place at Sandown on the 15th of September. Slightly under a month later, the Bathurst 1000 will be held on the 13th of October. The final endurance event is the Gold Coast 600 on the 27th of October around the streets of Surfers Paradise.
