THE finishing touches are being applied to Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra, chassis DJR6, following a significant fire, with the car set to return to the track in the NZ Historic Touring Car support races at the Christchurch Supercars round.
The car suffered significant damage last year in a fire at the George Begg Festival at Teretonga, as driven by its custodian, Lance Coupland.
DJR6 was the final Sierra produced by the team and debuted at the 1990 Sandown 500.
In its life, the car carried both numbers 17 and 18, before ultimately winning the NZ Nissan-Mobil 500 series pointscore at the end of 1992 with drivers Paul Radisich and Michael Preston.
The car passed through multiple hands in Australia before landing with Coupland in 2020.
The imminent return to racing follows in the wheel tracks of DJR4, which hit the track at the recent Phillip Island Penrite 100 Classic, as driven by Terry Lawlor, who, coincidentally, used to own DJR6.
The NZ Touring Cars draws together an eclectic mix of genuine touring cars from around the world.
Outside of Group A cars, the entry on the Supercars undercard is likely to include Super Tourers, Group C cars, and early 5 Litre Group A V8s amongst others.
The ITM Christchurch Super 440 is scheduled for April 17-19, with the event set to also feature NZ Formula Ford and the Summerset GT New Zealand Championship.