EMV8: Why we Want Steve
Signing Steven Johnson as a co-driver was clearly a coup for Erebus Motorsport V8 – but why is the team comfortable with someone so entrenched in another garage?
At The Mountain Johnson will jump into a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG V8 Supercar, with the intention of finishing as high as possible. And if that means overtaking the cars Johnson usually supports – so be it.
“Hopefully by the endurance races they’ll be going good,” Johnson said of his family team, the Wilson Security-backed Dick Johnson Racing. “But I’ll be going better!”
Erebus Motorsport V8 CEO Ryan Maddison spoke to v8supercars.com.au about signing Steve and why he is the perfect asset for Erebus and Maro Engel in the SP Tools #9 at Mount Panorama.
Maddison said the team was exposed to an extensive list of drivers coming forward to be part of the endurance program – as they were prior to Engel’s announcement as driver of the third car.
He felt there were very few drivers out there who could adequately perform, jumping into what is effectively a new vehicle – new chassis, tyres, brakes – and have a level of continuity from previous racing.
“Fortunately we were able to achieve that with Craig Baird and Andrew Thompson (partnering Lee Holdsworth and Tim Slade, as they did in 2012) with minimal change,” Maddison explained.
“We’ve thrown so much change into the team over the last 12 months, we wanted to try and reduce that where possible.
“When you look at which drivers have done the most consistent laps within the V8 Supercars category, Steven Johnson was one of those guys physically at the top of the list.”
Once EMV8 knew Johnson had the desire to drive for another team, without distraction and internal influence, it was a no-brainer.
There’s no worry of an outsider stealing secrets.
“I don’t think what we’ll be sharing come race day, and setup, will compromise our program,” Maddison said.
“The formula you want from a co-driver… simply for a co-driver making sure the car comes back clean and straight, and driving it to a lap time. Obviously fuel efficiency and tyre deterioration are the main cues to making sure we get to the end of these, effectively, long sprint races.”
But time will tell how Johnson’s role is managed – firstly, it’s open-ended as to what will take place from 2014; and his performance at the team’s upcoming test day will determine his involvement in co-driver sessions over the next two events on the V8 Supercars calendar.
To keep it simple, Johnson did not run in the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG in Friday’s driver session. That seems to be the intention for remaining co-driver sessions beore the official start of the endurance season – depending on his performance and comfort level in the car at the team’s upcoming test.
“Steve will be on an absolute drivers’ contract for this year – which encompasses everything from confidentiality and all of the other knock on effects that come into a professional contract and agreement between, effectively, a contractor and a business,” Maddison said.
“I have no reservations Steven will do the best job he can, not only for Erebus, but for Maro.
“We’ve actually seen an over-delivery of that over the last two events with how much time he’s physically spending with Maro on communication techniques, the ergonomics of the car, the way the car looks and feels.”
Maddison is happy to have bagged someone with Johnson’s level of ability and experience – relative not only to the 500 and 1000km races, but to the Gold Coast street circuit, also notoriously challenging and chaotic.
“We’ve seen evidence of it (this weekend) – to be able to drive mid-pack in this category and keep returning your car to the garage is quite a difficult art.
“Steven’s done that a number of times over the last fews years; shown he can run in and around 15th and forward, and continue to effectively navigate his way out of trouble. That’s the main prerequisite we wanted for a co-driver and that’s why we signed him.”
