JOHN RACING LEGEND MANN

Once a hallmark of motorsport, larger than life personalities are all but gone, so we turned the stopwatch back a few years and caught up with tin top star John Mann, who has just celebrated his 80th birthday and whose career spanned several decades with a record unlikely to be beaten. He is one of the true characters of the sport.

While Mann is best known for punting a wickedly fast Appendix J Ford Mustang from 1983 until recently, achieving what’s believed a world record for a car and driver of over 440 wins, his last race was in March this year behind the wheel of his Chev Camaro, at the Phillip Island historic meeting.

There’s little doubt his enthusiasm for the sport still burns brightly, however he recently won a far bigger race after being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness that curtailed him adding more wins with the beloved Stang.

Nestled on the banks of the Murray river in south east New South Wales is the farming hamlet