DICK Johnson Racing’s first ever Bathurst 1000 wildcard Supercar has completed its inaugural laps today.
The Ford squad headed to Queensland Raceway for a shakedown of its third Gen3 chassis, to be shared by Kai Allen and Simona De Silvestro in the 2023 Great Race in October.
The outing doubled as an evaluation day for third-generation driver Jett Johnson as well as Valentino Astuti, the latter scoring the opportunity as prize for winning the 2022 Australian Formula Ford title.
Anton De Pasquale was also on hand at Queensland Raceway.
The shakedown is a prelude to a concise testing program for Allen and De Silvestro, with the first of three days scheduled for September 4.
Allen also hopped in a Shell V-Power Mustang at a Sydney Motorsport Park ride day on July 31.
The 18-year-old’s heightening presence comes amid rumours he has signed with DJR through 2025.
When asked recently whether the wildcard program is just the start of the Allen/DJR story, team principal Ben Croke was cagey.
“We’ll concentrate on this year,” said Croke.
“You will see more of him, he will be at the track with us over the next few rounds and obviously at Sandown and Bathurst.
“But for him, he has got his own Super2 Series to concentrate on as well. He needs to win that and do really well in that and we’ll concentrate on Bathurst and see what happens after that.”
Allen holds second in the Super2 standings.
