Johnnie Walker (racing driver)
Johnnie Walker (aka John Walker) [1] is a former Australian racing driver, born in Adelaide, South Australia. He first raced in the early 1960s at Mallala in his Holden FE road car.[1] After competing in the Australian Formula 2 Championship he graduated to Formula 5000 in 1972, driving an Elfin MR5 and a Matich A50 before switching to the Lola marque in late 1973.
Walker finished second in both the 1973 and 1975 Australian Drivers' Championships before breaking through to win the title in 1979 in his Lola T332 Chevrolet. He also won the 1979 Australian Grand Prix at Wanneroo Raceway.
In 1975 he was highly competitive in the Tasman Series going into the final round at Sandown as equal series leader with Warwick Brown and Graeme Lawrence. However he crashed his Lola on the first lap demolishing 50 metres of the horse racetrack's running rails.
Walker drove several touring car races for the Holden Dealer Team in 1975-1976 including co-driving with Colin Bond in the 1975 Hardie Ferodo 1000 where they placed third in a Holden Torana SL/R 5000 L34.
Career results
Results sourced from Driver Database.[2]
Complete Tasman Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 |  City State Racing |
Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden | PUK | LEV | WIG | TER | SUR | WAR | SAN | AIR 4 |
12th | 3 |
| 1973 | Johnnie Walker |
Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden | PUK | LEV | WIG | TER | SUR 4 |
WAR 4 |
SAN 5 |
AIR Ret |
9th | 8 |
| 1974 | Johnnie Walker |
Lola T330 Repco-Holden | LEV 1 |
PUK 7 |
WIG Ret |
TER Ret |
ORA 2 |
SUR 5 |
SAN 3 |
AIR Ret |
3rd | 21 |
| 1975 | Johnnie Walker |
Lola T332 Repco-Holden | LEV 4 |
PUK 4 |
WIG 3 |
TER 4 |
ORA 3 |
SUR 1 |
AIR 3 |
SAN Ret |
2nd | 30 |
Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Aunger Accessories / Fairway Ford |
Kym Aunger |
Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II | E | 18 | DNF | DNF |
| 1971 | City State Racing Team |
Malcolm Ramsay |
Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 | D | 124 | 18th | 11th |
| 1975 | Holden Dealer Team |
Colin Bond |
Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | D | 154 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 1978 | Settlement Road Motor Wreckers |
Warren Cullen |
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | A | 152 | 7th | 7th |
References
- 1 2 James Cockington, Keep walking, Australian Muscle Car, Issue 66, March / April 2013, pages 103 - 112
- ↑ Johnnie Walker - Driver Database
- 1 2 1973 SCCA L&M Championship Review (Part 1), www.myf5000.com Retrieved on 26 April 2014
- ↑ Official Enry List, The Glen L&M Championship Race, www.myf5000.com Retrieved on 26 April 2014
- Australian Motor Racing Annual 1972 - page 40
- Racing Car News, November 1972 - page 61
- Australian Competition Yearbook 1974 - pages 59, 75, 208
- Australian Competition Yearbook 1975 - pages 46, 70
- Australian Competition Yearbook 1976 - pages 65, 108, 117-120, 188
- Australian Competition Yearbook 1977 - pages 104-110
- Australian Competition Yearbook 1978 - page 115