ALMOST five months after a horror crash at Mount Panorama during qualifying for the Bathurst 1000, Ford star Chaz Mostert got back behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar on Monday.

Mostert arrived at Mount Panorama last year not only as the Great Race’s defending champion, but with a real chance of threatening for the V8 Supercars’ drivers’ crown.

But his hopes of lifting another Peter Brock Trophy and boosting his championship standing came to an end on Friday afternoon.

Mostert clipped the concrete wall at the entry of The Esses while travelling at 170km/hr and the 23-year-old’s Falcon was flung across the track.

It rode up on a barrier and got airborne before finally coming to a halt, the incident seeing Mostert airlifted to Orange hospital with a broken left femur and wrist.

The injuries were so severe Mostert was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Since undergoing surgery the Prodrive Racing talent has worked hard on his recovery and Mostert was delighted to take part in Monday’s test day at Winton in his new Ford Falcon FG X.

“It is fantastic to be back in the car. I’ve been waiting four or five months to get back in the car,” he said.

“It is great to get out and just blow the cobwebs out.

“Physically [I feel] good. Obviously being a race car driver doesn’t mean you need to be a triathlete, but obviously I’ve still got a bit of work to do on my leg to get it back to 100 percent on the strength side of things.

“The body held up really well. Super pumped for [the season-opening] Clipsal 500, I can’t wait to get there.”

Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 will be held from March 3-6 and while there will no doubt be plenty of interest in how Mostert performs in his return, October’s Bathurst 1000 will provide him with another mental challenge.

Last year’s crash was not his first at Mount Panorama, Mostert also making heavy impact with the wall when driving for Dick Johnson Racing in 2013.

On that occasion he had just clocked the fourth fastest time of the final practice session when he clipped the wall at Reid Park, the contact lifting his Falcon off the ground before it speared head-on into the wall. 

He was unscathed after that incident and while last year’s crash was much worse, Mostert said he will put that behind him.

“I watched it about one-and-a-half times. I don’t need to watch it. It’s not because it scares me. It’s because I’m so pissed off at the mistake,” he said.

“You move on from it. We’re alive here and ready to race again.”