A north race ace hopes his red-hot year will help catapult the sport of super stock racing into the spotlight as he targets major success in 2023.
Not only did Dean Johnston, 25, from Rothes prove to be the best in Scotland in his custom-built speedy machine, but he’s mixing it with the best at British, European and World Championship level.
He was the national points champion in Scotland this year, finished third in the British Championship in Ipswich, while a puncture denied him a shot at glory in the European Championship on his home track in Lochgelly, Fife.
Although his World Championship debut in Northern Ireland didn’t go quite to plan, sizzling form overall has him gearing up for more success.
The fabricator works at Forsyths fabrication facilities in Rothes, who are the main one of many local sponsors backing his rise.
One good night betters any bad ones
Johnston is clearly determined to kick his career forward and help raise the profile of super stocks at the same time.
He said: “I can’t see me moving on until I win one of the three majors, the British, European or the World Championship. My mind’s been set on that since I was a kid.
“When I used to go and watch the racing, it was always the big ones we would watch.
“The Scottish Championship is a huge achievement this year, but it has just made me hungrier to go on and try and win a major one.
“Coming third in the British Championship this year was pretty good. In the European Championship, I got up into second place after starting at 24th in the grid on my home track.
“I was favourite to win it, on my home track, and was the fastest car on the track. Then I picked up a puncture, which was one of the biggest lows of the season.
“You can have four or five bad nights at the racing and you think ‘why the heck do I do it?’, but just one good night makes up for it all. That’s what I’m pushing for – to win one of the majors.”
Support is growing for Johnston
Johnston says his strong form is gradually getting people on board with a sport which, once viewed live, is addictive to many.
He said: “I’m really the only driver in this area, but I’m trying to get more people interested in super stocks.
“I took about 14 boys over to Northern Ireland for the World Championship, which was pretty good. I’m getting more and more of a following, but as yet not a lot of people know about the sport.
“It’s a long way to travel for people wanting to watch it. But anyone who has come and watched, they been hooked on it. This year especially, I’ve had people coming down the road to watch most weekends.
“I live in Rothes and with my local track being in Fife, that’s a six-hour, 300-mile round trip, which is crazy. When you add all the other travelling on top, it’s been almost every weekend of the year.
“Super stocks is a completely different type of racing to banger racing altogether.
“Because there’s the contact side of the sport, it’s scary. I’ve paid for the whole car, worth around £20,000, and you know if the guy you’re competing with catches you, not only is he going to pass you, but he’s probably going to damage your car and potentially hurt you as well.
“I’ve been knocked out twice this year, so it’s quite physical as well.”
Dad hooked Dean into the sport
Johnston goes from a 6.30pm finish at work into his garage at home to ensure his car is in peak condition for race time.
And he explained how it all started and how 2022 has been the best so far by miles.
He added: “My dad used to race when he was younger. I started when I was 12. I used to race a junior formula, which was minis, until I was 16.
“At that point, I took a few years off because I’d started working. I saved and saved and started racing the super stocks around 2017, so if you take out the Covid period, I’ve probably done four full seasons.
“This has been my most successful, winning the Scottish Championship and the national points championship.
“I qualified for the British, European and World Championship, which are the three majors.
“The European Championship is raced at my home track, the British Championship is raced down in Ipswich, where I came third, which I was delighted with.
“The World Championship, which I qualified for, was held over in Northern Ireland this year.
“Winning the national points championship for Scotland qualified me for the third row in the grid for it, so I started at the front.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way and we were taken out in the first lap, but that’s the way these big races go at times, where it’s just your luck.”
Mechanical dad supports all the way
And Johnston is keen to thank his dad, Raymond, for playing a key role in his success, having shifted from driving to key support figure.
He said: “My dad travels down to all the racing and does all the driving. Coming and supporting me is his hobby, but he’s also the main mechanic and plays a really big part in what we do.”
Creating the winning machine
As for the machine itself, Johnston explained what is involved to get his car to a highly competitive standard.
He said: “It’s a custom-built car, which I do all the work on, including repairs.
“The car itself was built Richardson Chassis Engineering, who custom-build them.
“It weighs around 650-kilos, is open-wheel, rear-wheel drive, it’s got a two-litre Zetec engine, and it’s just got the front and back bumpers.
“That’s where the stock car racing part of it comes in. It’s not a fully customised race car. The back axle is out of a Capri and it’s all based on original car parts, but ‘specced up’ as much as we can.”
