August 01, 2024
Motorsport fans will be able to meet Australian racing legends Dick Johnson, John Bowe, Warwick Brown and Bruce Allison at the Historic Leyburn Sprints.
The four drivers, plus fellow motorsport identities Ron Harrop and Brian Gelding, will be part of the 75th Australian Grand Prix anniversary official opening and commemoration ceremony on Saturday 17 August. The ceremony will be held on the start line in Macintyre Street from 12.00 midday.
All the guests will take part in a range of activities during the weekend, including autograph sessions and photo opportunities. Bowe also will compete in a Ford Escort.
Fittingly for this celebration, Brown, Allison and Bowe have impressive AGP records. Warwick Brown won in 1977, Allison took pole position in 1975 and John Bowe was on the front grid row in 1984 ahead of several Formula 1 stars.
Warwick Brown is one of Australia’s most decorated open-wheeler drivers. In a career of barely 10 years, he won the Australian Grand Prix (1977), New Zealand Grand Prix (1975), Tasman Series (1975) and Rothmans International Series/Australian National Formula 1 (1977, 1978).
In Australia, New Zealand and the United States, he raced versions of the fearsomely-powerful Lola F5000 car, but in 1976 drove a Wolf-Williams at the United States Grand Prix in his sole Formula 1 appearance, finishing 14th.
Allison raced Lola F5000s and other makes in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and England. He took pole position for the 1975 AGP and appeared again in the race in 1976 and 1981.
In the UK, he received the coveted Grovewood Award as the most promising Commonwealth driver and won at Mallory Park in the 1977 British F1 Championship. He won the Formula Pacific Series in Australia and the Shah Alam Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Dick Johnson AM and John Bowe AM are both members of the Supercars Hall of Fame. They competed as teammates in the Dick Johnson Racing team from 1988 to 1998, winning the Bathurst 1000 in 1989 and 1994.
Johnson’s achievements include three Bathurst 1000 races and five Australian Touring Car Championships. He was named a Queensland Q150 Icon in 2009.
Bowe’s trophy tally includes
- Two Gold Star Australian Drivers Championships
- An Australian Touring Car Championship
- Australian Sports Car Championship
- Two Bathurst 1000 wins
- Six Touring Car Masters titles
- Bathurst 12-Hour win.
He raced five times in the Australian Grand Prix, in 1984 at Calder qualifying in second place ahead of Formula 1 stars Keke Rosberg, Andrea de Cesaris and Lucio Cesario.
Harrop and Gelding are well-known in the garages at many Australian circuits. A former driver, Harrop became better known as an engineer of performance parts for road and race cars. Gelding’s a “small Ford” specialist in his Sydney parts business and worked for many years as a crew member for Jim Richards.
