AUSTRALIAN motorsport legend Dick Johnson has revealed he is broke and unwell after losing a staggering $9.1 million.

A sporting great who should be living in the lap of luxury after a 36-year career, the five-time V8 Touring Car champion is living off $350 a week and hasn't drawn a wage from his famous race team Dick Johnson Racing since 2008.

The 68-year-old also spoke for the first time about his ailing health. "I lost nearly everything I owned," Johnson told The Sunday Telegraph last week.

"My house, my factory, my health and my famous cars. Even my dignity. I was conned out of $9.1 million."

Read Dick Johnson's full extract here

media_camera V8 racing legend Dick Johnson at his DJR headquarters at Stapylton. Picture: Peter Wallis

Failed business deals forced him to mortgage his $2.1 million Gold Coast property in 2008 and a $1.3 million factory that housed the most successful team in the history of V8 Supercars.

The three-time Bathurst winner lost $4 million in savings and was forced to sell the priceless race cars that helped to make him one of the most standout drivers in Australian history.

"They had to go," Johnson said. "I was broke and busted and left without a choice. It hurt then and it still hurts now. I am sure all this drama will eventually kill me.

"It may floor you to know I haven't drawn a wage from my business since 2008. Some people think I am a rich racing legend worth a fortune. But my wife and I have been living on less than $1500 a month. That covers food, bills and petrol. Sometimes I have enough to fly my wife (Jill) to races to watch our son Steve race. My only income comes from the factory space I rent to my team. I have nothing else. I lost it all in a dodgy deal."

media_camera Dick with his wife Jill Johnson. Picture: Peter Wallis

Johnson's woes began in 2005 when his major sponsor, Westpoint, collapsed - leaving him without a promised $12 million for his team.

The man who became a household name in 1980 when he was wiped out by a rock at Bathurst formed two businesses - V8 Telecoms and FirstRock Mortgage Centre. Both companies collapsed in 2007, forcing Johnson to sell his assets to pay out creditors and save his race team.

"I have had many lows in my life, but none more so than walking into a hotel to plead with a bunch of knockabouts to take all I had to give to save my team.

"It was damn right embarrassing and completely terrifying. Thankfully they accepted my deal and allowed my team to survive," he said, adding the ordeal had made him an "old man" beyond his years.

"I am not a healthy man, the reasons stem from that period of my life - I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat and I constantly felt sick in the guts. From that day I have constantly battled problems that have made me an old man.

"I was never a big drinker but I turned to the bottle to help me sleep and forget my troubles at night."

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