And he can certainly speak from experience.

Johnston won five championships during his career – 1981, 1982, 1984, 1988 and 1989 – but in his 26 starts in the Great Race picked up three wins.

Those victories at Mount Panorama in 1994, 1989 and 1981, were mixed in with three runner-up finishes and bad luck stories as well.

“Bathurst is harder to win than a championship in my eyes for the simple reason that you can make mistakes in the championship and you have an opportunity to come back, but not at Bathurst,” he said.

“You make mistakes and you are virtually out of the race.

“You’ve just got to think about it and not take any unnecessary risks because, as they say, the race is won in the last 20-25 laps and we’ve seen that year-in and year-out in the past where as long as you’re at the front of the pack, you've got a fair damn chance of winning.

“It is a race where you can not make mistakes.”

While Johnston retired from racing at the end of the 1999 season, he has retained his link with the sport through team ownership.

James Courtney won the drivers’ championship for Dick Johnston Racing in 2010, but thus far Johnston has not seen one of his cars claim the chequered flag at Bathurst as he has watched on from pit lane.

Last year he got close with his twin entries placing fifth and sixth, but this season he rates his prospects of success even higher.

His two lead drivers – Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard – have been in impressive form.

McLaughlin currently leads the championship while he and co-driver Alex Premat placed second at Sandown, the first of the Supercars’ enduros.

Coulthard is third in the championship, but has spent time in the lead. He also did well at Sandown, running fifth with Tony D’Alberto.

It has Johnston excited about returning to Mount Panorama.

“I think going into Bathurst this year, we’re probably the best prepared that we've ever been - personnel, drivers and certainly with the way the cars have been performing so far this year,” he said.

“When you do get to Bathurst and you do come over that last hill, you can just see the big white writing that says Mount Panorama, you get a huge thrill.”

His Ford Falcons will hit the track at Bathurst for the first time on Thursday, October 5 for practice.