Australian racing legend Dick Johnson says he hasn’t felt welcome at Winton Motor Raceway ever since bowling out one of his most iconic one-liners.
During the 1990 Australian Touring Car Championship season, Johnson told commentator Mike Raymond that the circuit was “Like running a marathon around your clothesline.”
In its infancy, the rural race track was just two kilometres long before an extension was established, taking it out to three kilometres.
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The original layout near Benalla left little time to rest, prompting the famous line from Johnson.
However, it’s not one that has necessarily resonated with custodians of the circuit, he said.
“Every time I go to Winton I get in trouble,” said Johnson on the Parked Up podcast.
“Everyone reminds me of the time that I said ‘driving around Winton is like running a marathon around your clothes line’.
“I’ve never been that welcome there ever since.”
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The revelation comes after being asked whether he would be attending the forthcoming Touring Car Masters round at the circuit near Benalla, two hours north of Melbourne.
Johnson’s son, Steven, will be racing in the Touring Car Masters field.
“I’ve had enough travel for a while, so that’s fine,” said Johnson.
Another of Johnson’s favourite most often used one-liners was more philosophical – “the only thing you get by looking back is a sore neck.”
He was also prone to rolling out “as useless as an ashtray on a motorcycle” at opportune times.
He once described driving the Ford Sierra Cosworth in the 1992 Bathurst 1000 in wet conditions as being “like chewing a leg on a chocolate frog! It’s about that much fun.”
Johnson is a co-owner in the eponymous Supercars team, which remains the oldest running team in the championship.
Johnson, now 78, occasionally travels to Supercars events nowadays.
His son will form part of the Touring Car Masters field at Winton Motor Raceway on June 9-11.
The SpeedSeries event is headlined by the TCR Australia Series and joined by the a healthy line-up featuring the National Trans Am Series, S5000, V8 Touring Cars, Sports Sedans, and Formula Ford.
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