One of the most well known names in modern New Zealand motorsport
With
help from Ken Smith and generous Kiwi businessmen, PJ formed Scott
Dixon Motorsport Ltd, which was the financial backing for the talented
open-wheel driver. PJ has a real passion for all motorsport and gets
huge enjoyment from seeing kiwis do well on the world stage.
From the age of thirteen, Scott was racing and winning championships in various formulas of racing in New Zealand and Australia.
In
2001 Scott made his debut in the Indy Lights championship and after
impressing the big names in the Champ Car series, Chip Ganassi signed
Iceman up for a season in one of his Target Racing cars. In 2003 he
moved to IRL and won his maidenrace at Miami and ended up going on to
win the 2003 Indy Racing League championship.The last few years of the
championship have seen the Ganassi team short on engine speed however
in 2007 they are the team to beat.
The
newest and most exciting new name in New Zealand open wheel racing,
Brendon Hartley is the boy from Palmerston North making headlines in
European Motorsport.
Like Scott, Brendon was picked up by
Ken Smith and PJ at a young age. He has a strong background in Karting
and made his first waves in the Formula First championship at the age
of 12. He has since moved through the ranks, winning the Formula Ford
winter series in 2003 and competed in the top three in the Toyota
Racing series. Brendon is currently signed to the Red Bull Junior team
and is competing in the Italian and Eurocup (World series) Formula 2.0
championships held over 14 race meetings
This series is
often seen as the feeder to Formula 1 and being signed with Red Bull
who has a team in the global championship that is F1, the pathways are
there for progression.
PJ and GVI continue to support Brendon and we are all looking forward to seeing him progress over the coming years.
The owner and Managing Director of Genuine Vehicle Imports, Peter (PJ) Johnston has a passion for Group B rally cars.
These
cars, developed in the early 1980s brought a whole new dimension to the
world of rallying. With the introduction of all-wheel drive,
turbo-charged engines and light-weight monocoque chassis, rally fans
were witnessing the evolution of the sport which we recognize in todays
WRC cars.
PJ gave into his hunger for his first car a 1984
MG Metro 6R4 in the late 90s. aPurchased, surprisingly enough, from
Japan, the boxy Metro ran six cylinders of a Rover V8. The naturally
aspirated engine could be heard many miles away and although running
gear failures led to some DNF's, the Metro made multiple appearances on
the podium with PJ, the best being second overall in 2001.
After
selling the 6R4 to a NZ buyer and after much scanning of the globe, PJ
discovered an ex-works Peugeot 205 T16 hidden away in a barn in
California. He swiftly had it on a boat destined for Auckland and after
another complete rebuild, the T16 lined up for its first event, the
2003 Targa. The Peugeot obtained mixed results in road racing and was
impressive in the historic circuit racing in Timaru. The two-litre
turbo T16 with six-speed sequential shifting became well known in most
motorsport circles.
In 2005, PJ cried enough when mechanical
failures were rife and sold the T16 to an Irish enthusiast. He
accompanied the car to the land of Guiness and ran it one more time in
the historical section of the Killarny Rally of the lakes, finishing
well, before letting go.
Not one to come home empty handed, PJ didn't disappoint and on arrival to NZ he was sporting a Ford RS200.
Ford
developed the RS200 near to the end of the Group B era and never had
significant time to make an impression. It boast a mid-mounted
two-litre turbocharged engine with four-wheel drive giving off 450hp.
In the few events it has had in NZ, PJs RS200 has been performing well
in both the hands of himself and Neil Allport, achieving impressive
victories rallies and bent sprints.
Look out for the RS200 in tarmac rallies and historic circuit races this year.>
On
a recent trip to England in 2006, PJ met with Ford's M-sport managing
director, Malcom Wilson to discuss the newly launched Fiesta Sporting
Trophy series in the UK. He was given a tour of the M-sport base where
all the WRC research and development is done and was introduced to the
Ford Fiesta ST Gp.N.
The engineer responsible for the car,
Chris Williams and his team, took the standard car back to a bare shell
and using the technology employed in the development of the Focus WRC,
re-developed the standard car to incorporate both the safety features
and the performance improvements required to withstand the pounding
that will be encountered by competing with this car on rally stages all
over the world. Fundamentally, M-sport wanted a car that we, as
enthusiasts would want to drive, a vehicle that would 'flatter the
novice and reward the professional'
The
car utilizes the two-litre 165hp duratec motor which is run with the
aid of a piggy back wiring loom for optimized ignition. Power is put to
the dirt via 'fly-by-wire' throttle, to improve throttle respone and
engine torque in the lower gears and a five speed dog box gives life to
the front wheels sporting Michelin tyres.
In essence, the
Fiesta Sporting Trophy series was introduced to provide a level playing
field class at a lower cost than what would be incurred in running a
four-wheel drive GP.N car. This will enable talented drivers with
limited backing to shine through and be recognized on the national
stage.
PJ decided to bring the idea back to New Zealand and
introduced the idea to the motorsport public late 2006. In the
inaugural season of 2007 there are currently 6 teams competing from
across the country. The calendar sees the teams travel right across the
country competing in six rounds including Rally New Zealand.
