Dick Johnson Racing will repair the damaged #17 Jim Beam Black Racing Falcon FG for next weekend’s Armor All Gold Coast 600.
Instead of switching to one of its spare chassis, the Queensland team has decided to repair the car after it was involved in the huge fireball crash at Mount Panorama last weekend.
The car’s chassis was given the all clear from Logan Village Smash Repairs this morning, who will complete the repair today before sending it back to DJR’s Yatala workshop.
The #17 entry’s co-driver David Besnard had no brake pedal pressure after a pad change during the mid-point of the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday. He slammed backwards into the Griffins Bend wall, unleashing a full tank of fuel onto the race track which caught alight.
Besnard escaped unscathed, but the Falcon didn’t.
The team will work overtime to put the car back together. The car will be driven by regular pilot Steve Johnson and international co-driver Dirk Muller at the Surfers Paradise street track.
Johnson says that the Jim Beam squad is working around the clock to ensure the car is 100 percent.
“It has been straightened and it looks OK,” Johnson told Speedcafe.com.
“They are just going to give it one more tweak this morning. It wasn’t actually too badly bent. Most of the damage came from when the car landed, rather than from the impact.
“All in all, it’s not too bad to be honest.
“The boys were at work yesterday and they had all the gear laid out and were rebuilding everything. While the car’s away, they’re getting the other stuff ready to bolt back in when the chassis comes back.”