Nissan GTR Returns to Bathurst

[Skym]

Nissan GTR Returns to Bathurst -

http://www.gtrblog.com/index.php/2009/02/14/motor-magzine-nissan-gt-r-returns-to-bat?blog=4

The R35 GTR broke the production car lap record.

[GTR-Dad]

Great post Skym,

Stories about the R32 at Bathhurst were a key part of my facination with the Skyline. A bunch of the initial learning about what it takes to get 500 hp from an RB26 for long enough to win an endurance race happened there.

Cheers,
Dan

[Skym]

Thanks.

It was a worldwide combined effort.

Andy Middlehurst (driver) at NME (Nissan Motorsport Europe) drove the endurance cars (I think was R32, R33, R34) at Nurburgring, etc.

Andy Middlehurst -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Middlehurst

In Australia it was more the Gibson racing team back in the days. Also Holinger gearbox, etc that were used by the Japanese racing teams, tuners. They had started way back with R30 Skyline, then R31, R32. That gearbox trend looks like it's showing up again with the PPG gearbox replacements, etc for R35GTR.

The dude who built the engines for the Gibson R32 GTR Group-A racecars, runs his own business and still builds Group-A spec engines, big capacity sumps, Targa GTR racecars, etc. His name is Eric at Eric Engineering.

Nissan USA helped with Electromotive ECU, etc. Also Paul Newman was a famous racecar driver with R30. So popular, they made a Paul Newman special edition R30.

NZ contributed with Jim Richards (driver), who won the ATCC championship in I think was 1990.

[Zacho]

I went to mount panorama in bathurst last year...and I'll tell you that downhill section is way steeper than the camera shows, and there is one corner near the top that drops 4-6 feet in elevation in less than 10 feet in distance called the dipper. One hell of a course.


Good read.

[Browny_R31]

having actually watched the ATCC race around bathurst in 1991.... i think its waht got me hooked on the skyline. experiencing that place first hand is well its daunting. i was lucky enough to have a timed session around mt panorama in a HQ holden (aussie car) and **** me that place really is alot scarier to drive hard then it looks on the camera. coming over the dipper at full flight u cant actually see the road for an instant as it curves left. scary as hell. coming through skyline all the weight is on the right hand side of the car and u really are on the edge foot the floor feeling the whole car squirm.... truly an amazing experience.

Jim richards was a great driver. he won the ATCC champsion ship in 1985 1987 1990 (in a HR31 skyline), 1991, 1992 in the GTR32. Amazing to watch him flex the skylines around the track with grace and power.