While we were in Imola as guests of the BMW WTCC team last month, we shot a film about former multiple Touring Car World Champion, Andy Priaulx which we’ll be releasing shortly. He’s also been writing a guest blog for Speedhunters about his twin BMW racing weekends at Imola and Road Atlanta, but right now he’s in Australia racing at the Bathurst 1000 kms.
It’s one of these marque international events that we’ll need to Speedhunt one of these years. In the meantime, here’s a great vintage video from Bathurst showing the R32 “Godzilla” showing the competition how it’s done!
:R
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nowadays the bathurst only allows HOLDENS and FORDS V8s idk y... its like they were sick of getting beat from all these turbo cars that they had to ruin it and is tha reason I dont watch bathurst because of the fact all cars are pretty much the same now. maybe theres another reason to this?
on the other note though, this video just makes me love NISSANs even more. look at the power of the R32 even back then, just so incredible and the noise it makes on idle
To ECR33. Since you obviously don't know much about Austrailian motorsport, Bathurst has always been a Holden Vs Ford show and imports were tolerated to a point.
Holden vs Ford is what makes Bathurst great and the people come in the 180,000 every year to see the great race.
Bathurst IS the best touring car race in the world because of the circuit and the cars used.
great coverage there!
To EJ25RUN. Since YOU don't know much about Australian motorsport, Bathurst was always about Imports, with victories by Ford Cortina, Mini Cooper, Alfa Romeo GTV, Hakosuka Skyline, and Isuzu Bellett. It wasn't until 1969 or 1970 that Bathurst became a contest between V8s, and it is shameful that the rules were rewritten in 1993 to specifically exclude the Skylines. While it is a great race, the exclusion of potent foreign cars and turbochargers make the current race as much a disappointment as NASCAR when considering what it could be without the protectionism.
The Bathurst race is on today. Holdens and Ford are the cars that have always made the race interesting.
great video, touring car racing was something else back then.
Rod - Speak to Matt Mead (he currently contributes for Cold Track Days), no doubt he'd be happy to head up there next year and shoot it for you
He was up there this year for a production car race just to shoot pictures so he's committed!
He has a Flickr account so check out his shots there
By the way guys, while it's great to dream about these cars, if you've read about them you'll who that those who won the race cheated the best.
Secret boost adjustment knobs seem to be the main one but would arguably be the most effective! I recall a brake bias knob that certainly wasn't connected to the brakes! As i say, he who cheated the best won the race...
Some amazing racing, some extraordinary cars, some great drivers but some incredible bending of the rules. That's motor racing!
to ECR33: EJ25RUN is right when most people think bathurst(even in europe) they think johnsons rock incident, brocks torana xu1 and moffat,grice chickadee commadore victory.The gtrs only won because thay found a loophole anyway
For anyone interested in the GTR's racing in Australia at the time, check out this article curtousy of Motor Magazine. These Oz tuned GTR's were even feared by the world renowned Japanese Tourers of the time!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/hrdnts/WinfieldGTR_Page_1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/hrdnts/WinfieldGTR_Page_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/hrdnts/WinfieldGTR_Page_3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/hrdnts/WinfieldGTR_Page_4.jpg
If you're going to Speedhunt Bathurst, take me with you... and you better book your accomodation now, people book, 18months in advance!
All this talk about the GTR-
As a person who owns both a Skyline and a Sierra- Unless its drifting: the Sierra wins in my book every time!!
So this is what it looks like when Godzilla goes hunting!!
I have watched both the 91 & 92 Bathurst races in whole where the R32 GTR's dominated. Such a good race - this shows how behind the Australians were and still are with their racing - still using pushrod V8's...sure, it's good fun to watch them race, don't get me wrong, but if you want to see the worlds fastest touring cars, then watch Japans GT500 class.
As much as I love a skyline i'd still take the sierra over it any day, way too much of a boyhood dream car.
to jason: I to have watched 90,91, & 92 bathurst and i still for the life of me think why cams allowed a 4WD 2 DOOR COUPE to compete in a TOURING CAR race.And up until the r32 nisssan whre nowhere because good old dick johnson won in 89.And brocky had dominated before that. I wonder why illegal boost knob? 4wd car vs 2wd drive saloons? And jason if the r32 victorys in 90-92 where so great why was jimmy richards booed on the podium?
That footage was awesome. While Bathurst will always watched, I turn my head in disgust due the V8 series being more about entertainment than racing. I reckon a grudge match between the Sierra, the GTR and a current V8 would be great to watch. See how much the V8 have to learn about a real racing car. Oh and to efcivicman: Jim was booed because it wasn't local product on the top step. And his reaction was not to his victory, but because no one cared about the friend he lose earlier that day.
to efcivicman, jim richards, and mark skaife were booed because unfortunately the majority of holden and ford fans are ignorant of true driving talent and are too precious about their V8's, they cant take it that a car with only 4 or 6 cylinders can beat them....
As for the illigel knobs etc it wasnt illegal as such it was more of a bending of the rules. For example i recall a story the team manager at the time said in a magazine, the rules stated each car had to have a fire extinguisher. But the rules didnt state it couldnt be in the engine bay, or directly infront of the intercooler. Now the rules also didnt say that it couldnt be hooked up to a switch in the cabin to spray the intercooler on the qualifying lap..........
i personally think that is very smart
to matt 86s13 and ryan cooper: I think the extinguisher farce shows how far nissan had to cheat to win that yearand in 90 and 91. I still think both of you are missing my point about a 4WD car in a mainly 2WD race is a tad unfair. considering the 4WD car in question was a COUPE not a SALOON/SEDAN. And i can personally understand the dismay of the holden and ford fans coming to a australian saloon car race and seeing a japanese 4wd coupe winning it.Also if nissan entered a current gtr that still would not be allowed because it is 4wd not 2wd and v8 supercars rules state the car must be 2wd. And the sierra is no longer in production.IMO skaife real bathurst wins came from 2000-2005.
I was able to watch the entire 2009 race live even though i live in America. Streaming for the win!
I was hoping Murphy and Skaife would get it in the end but Kelly's Holden was allowing Tander to get away in the end. Congrats to HRT for finally stopping Lowndes and Whincup.
ur missing the point mate, regarding the 4wd thing, there were balances and restrictions countering that as well.
Personally it just exemplified how far behind the australian motoring industry was compared to the rest of the world (and to be honest it still is, partly it could be said because theyr only competing amongst themselves....)
Look at it this way, take an eb falcon, vl commodore, and line it up with a same era s13, supra, skyline.(and dont argue the coupe saloon point because holden and ford market them as a "sports" car)
soooo if they want to say its a sports car they have gotta take the beating they will inevitably recieve when compared to cars from other countries
God...Group A really was the pinnacle of tin top racing and rallying for me. RS500 vs. Grp. A GTR. It really doesn't get any better. I wish I could go back in time.
to matt86s13: if you where to take a eb falcon,vl commadore,s13 silvia, rs500 and mk3 supra and the gtr in standard form the vl and eb would win from the r32(since you can't adjust ther boost in standard form) then the s13 and then the mk3 supra(which to be honest was not toyotas finest moment.) And may i remind you the monaro and the maloo and the clubsport r8 have been sold over here in the uk for a couple of years now and are some of the most desireable cars in that price range. And jeremy clarkson revered to them all as bargains.
There was a reason why Jim Richards and Mark Skaife (even though I admire those drivers) were booed at the 1992 Bathurst podium, which later on caused the CAM to ban all turbocharged cars/AWD cars from the race. Turbocharging in most cases is just an easy way of gaining power, hence why in Australia there is a turbocharged Ford Falcon (Ford needed to find a way to extract more power from it's six cylinder engine) while Holden doesn't sell turbocharged cars (the Commodore SV6 currently being sold produces 280bhp). If the R32 Skyline ran the RB26DE (without being turobcharged) I can guarantee that if that was the case in 1992, Richards and Skaife wouldn't have been standing on the podium.
It doesn't really matter if Australians understand motorsport or not, this is about Australian culture, and V8 engines are a huge part of it (hence why FPV and Ford sell more V8s than turbocharged sixes, even though the turbocharged cars are faster than the V8s). Holden and Ford back then could have so easily supercharged their cars and throw on AWD systems, but they didn't, because FR V8 saloon cars are part of Australian culture, while Japanese imports are not, hence Australians would rather see more howling eight-cylinder supercars than roaring RB26-powered machines.
I totally agree that touring car racing (including both coupes and sedans in various classes) was much more entertaining when more than 2 manufacturers were involved. Also I think it pushed development further because the cars were different and relatively production based. I mean these were all homologated. The Aussie based Gibson Motorsport team made over 100hp more then the Japanese Nismo factory cars! Whether it be by interpretation of the rules (budget or other means) it is what motor racing is about in any formula (i.e. F1 "Diffusers" this year etc) Now the GTR's weighed more with 4WD, only had 2.6 engines compared to 5.0 V8, and even with additional weight penalty and restrictions were still quicker? Sour grapes IMO. They did more with what they had and won at the end of the day, The results are recorded in history and can not be disputed. The Sierra's were brilliant too (as were the M3's) being strides ahead of the Falcons and Commodores technically and on the track.
V8 Supercars now are so far removed from their production counterparts, it may as well be a one make formula, because there is little separting the cars except the badge on the grill these days. I think the sport suffers from lack of variety, look at WRC with only Citreon and Ford contestiting the championship, and F1 with teams dropping out and who's left stealing the left overs like vultures.
It would be a wonderful thing to see some European and Japanese manufacturers get involved in Australian touring car racing again, but I fear if BMW M5's, Benz E55's or R35 GTR's started lapping the Aussie taxis around Bathurst again, the pack of ass holes on the hill will fire up again...
TO efcivicman: If you put an EB Falcon, VL Commodore (both V8's) up against an R32 GTR, MK3 Supra & S13 Silvia (all in factory stock form), the R32 GTR would demolish all of them in a straight line drag race. In factory stock form, the R32 GTR was able to complete the 1/4 mile in the low 13second range whereas the VL Commodore was in the low 15second range. Get your facts right. The Japanese have always been more advanced with the application of their technology. Frank: Yes the aussies could have slapped a supercharger and AWD system on the Commodores and Falcons - but it's not as simple as that. It's about how they apply that technology and how it works. The Japanese were very successful in this because they had a high-revving small capacity force-fed motor and an AWD system which worked very well with the weight distribution of the car. Nissan also released the R32 Skyline 4Door as the "GTS4", which had the same AWD system (ATTESA) as the GTR. If the 4Door R32 Skyline was raced instead of the 2Door coupe, i can guarantee the result would have been exactly the same. Efcivicman: Gibson motorsport bent the rules the their advantage to obtain the best possible qualifying times. Even if they had not bent these rules, they were still a mile in front of the competition. At the end of the day everything balanced off - Gibson motorsport used the GTR with AWD because the engine was 1/2 the size in capactiy and therefore had a lot less torque even though it had the twin-turbocharges AND the GTR's were heavier than the Commodores and Falcons.
That race so clearly represented how far ahead the Japanese are with their application of technology in race cars, however a lot of credit is due to Gibson Motorsport for successfully developing a car that was a true track weapon and reliable!
It's not as simple as just bolting on a supercharger and an AWD system; manufacturers/tuners/race teams also have to test out that technology (which was what Nissan did with their Skyline GT-Rs) and balance it with the drivetrain performance to obtain the best quality overall performance from their cars. I do applaud Nissan for their efforts into developing the Skyline GT-R from day 1 of the 1990s when it replaced the HR31 Skyline (and I do hope to own a GT-R one day) but then while Gibson Motorsport was able to use that exploit to their advantage, if they had raced their GT-R with the original 500bhp Nismo tuned RB26DETT then the results would have been different (the motor in the Gibson race car outputted 600bhp+). As for the 4-Door Skyline, unless you're talking about the Autech 4-Door (which had a normally aspirated RB26) the GTS4 had an RB20DET engine where the power output of that car was equal to the Commodore and Falcon V8s (212bhp). In stock form, the cars would be of equal match.
If Gibson Motorsport did race the 4 door, provided that they used the same engine and drivetrain as the Skyline GT-R, obviously it would demolish the Commodore and Falcon, however if they had stuck to the stock RB20DET engine, the results would have been different. Or if Gibson were forced to race the Skyline with a VRH35L (V8) engine installed, results would have also been different. Let's also look at it this way: If Holden and Ford supercharged their machines and install AWD systems back then, these cars would also have been equal match with the GT-R....provided that the cars were adequately tuned with good power in the high rev range and adequate torque in the low rev range. Cars with forced induction would obviously have an advantage to NA cars (provided that they are tuned properly) just like how Gibson Motorsport proved back then.
It's not that I don't have respect for JDM cars; I've loved them ever since I was little and I have a huge collection of Best Motoring/Hot Version DVDs in my bookcase, however imports really don't suit the other half of the Australian racing scene today. People have different tastes and thoughts; while some prefer blasting turbochargers and roaring RB engines, others prefer the throaty muscular soundtrack of the V8s.
Regarding the VN Commodore, EB Falcon, R32 Skyline, MkIII Supra and S13 drag race...this makes completely no sense at all; two NA cars racing against turbocharged machines; obviously the three JDM cars would win this drag race. But if you equipped the Skyline with the RB25DE, Supra with the 7M-GE and the S13 with the SR20DE and raced them against the V8s, the JDM cars would be the obvious losers.
Like I said earlier, most JDM manufacturers found that forced induction was an easy way to gain power. However, in today's era, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but when people start bitchin about how early 90's JDM cars were faster than Australian V8 cars, then they need to realize that had the Australian manufacturers caught the mental disorder of forced inducting, then it would have been a different story. The Japanese are clever, but if you look back in the history books it was Chevrolet and Oldsmobile who invented the turbocharger, so it was actually Japan adapting American technology.
Frank - you have hit the nail on the head my friend. The Japanese are very very smart at what they did. They adapted the technology to suit their racing & street applications and did it very well.
Don't get me wrong. I have respect for cars from all manufacturers, but what i have been saying all along is that it just shows how advanced the Japs were with their technology in the early 90's as opposed to the Aussies just shoving a 308 in a Commodore. The Japs developed a sports car with decent horsepower, torque and amazing grip levels thanks to their 4wd system - the GTR was a true sports car back then and it's hard to say that a Commodore with a 308, 4spd manual and sports suspension is a sports car.
Anyway thats besides the point. Regardless of whether people think that Gibson Motorsports were cheating and so on, the GTR's performed amazingly well and have done so when raced against makes & models from manufacturers from all around the world.
With regards to the AUTECH 4door R33 GTR, it had full GTR running gear - the RB26DETT, GTR gearbox + diff and 4wd system.
Also, the Japs have always stuck with smaller engines. Sure, there may be V8's and V12's that have come from Japan, but they have always developed the 4 & 6 cylinder motors with great success.
At the end of the day, it would be good to see some more variety in the V8 Supercar championship. But, nothing beats the days of the Falcon GT-HO's and Monaro's. If you are keen on the classic era of touring car racing in Australia, look up Norm Beechey's Holden HT Monaro from the early 70's, absolute machine! Makes me want to drive the 308 HG Monaro i have locked up in my shed at home
There may be only one universal truth in the automotive world: If a V8 races against a vehicle with less than 8 cylinders and wins, the V8 fans all shout "There's no replacement for displacement!" If a V8 races against a vehicle with less than 8 cylinders and a turbocharger, then the V8 fans all shout "That's cheating!"
If the Skyline was not turbocharged and was a naturally aspirated six racing against V8s? How about if the Falcons, Commodores, or the various V8 engined Ford or Holden, were then forced to also run a naturally aspirated _six_ cylinder engine too? Everybody runs sixes and suddenly the result is not a foregone conclusion in favor of the Fords and Holdens.
GM invented turbochargers? Maybe the first to developed technology from Swiss boat engines and French airplane engines into automobiles, but they did not invent the turbocharger. And who is to blame for their failure to follow through and become the leaders in turbocharging automobile engines after adapting the technology from boat and airplane engines? Certainly not the fault of the Japanese. GM has only themselves to blame.
Governing bodies of racing organizations other than CAMS (and NASCAR) have managed to mix competition between engines of different numbers of cylinders and forced induction and naturally aspirated with success. Restrictor plates, pop off valves, weight penalties. But that takes work and wouldn't serve to protect the interests of the V8 and domestic only crowds.
When Nissan were developing the R32 GTR Skyline for Group A racing, they were originally going to use a 2.4L 6cylinder (the RB24DETT). That would have placed them in the 4.2L V8 category. So, Nissan opted to increase the capacity of their motor to 2.6L so they could gain some extra low-down torque, however by doing this, the GTR wsa moved up to the 4.8L V8 category. If your vehicle was turbo or supercharged you had to multiply the capacity by 1.8 in order to find out which class you would be completing in. This rule was put in place by the FIA (of the time, not sure of their name), and it applied to the Australian Touring Car Championship aswell.
I would love to go for a ride in one of these R32's.
To Rod Chong: You MUST cover Bathurst one year in it's entirety! And you have to do a "Temple of Speed" article on it taking us through all the history of the track right up to modern times!
Sour grapes - You completely misread my statement.
I did not say that the GT-Rs cheated in any way or form. I applauded Nissan's effort at producing such a high-tech car at that time. However, if you look at it this way, back then with the R32s battling the other vehicles it was a case of an iPod vs a cassette tape recorder. Obviously the GT-Rs would have had the advantage; if you look at JTCC in the early 90s in Japan, the GT-R dominated every race it competed in.
"If a V8 races against a vehicle with less than 8 cylinders and a turbocharger, then the V8 fans all shout "That's cheating!"
So I guess Ford would be cheating themselves in their own game eh?
You obviously understated this statement "Skylines with NA sixes racing V8s". Look at the Ford Sierra. That car shoved sticks up the arses of Holdens back then and it was powered by a turbocharged four, presumably with less horsepower than the R32, while the R32 was powered by the RB26DETT. If the Skyline was powered by an RB26DE and ran against V8s, what would be the problem with that if the engine was properly re-built and blueprinted etc? Have you not seen the performance of Porsche 911s? Have you not seen the Targa Tasmania or JGTC where there are NA six cylinder vehicles racing against V8s? Complete understatement there, my friend.
With regards to the turbochargers, GM might not have invented the turbocharger but they were the first automotive company to adopt the technology of turbocharging and develop them for use in production petrol motor vehicles. So basically, the design and formula of installing a turbocharger onto a motor vehicle was used by the Japanese for their GT-R, therefore, technically they have used bits of American technology.
Of course things would have gone wrong, since the "technology" was relatively new, there was naturally bound to be faults. Nobody's perfect.
V8 Supercars has been a tradition in Australia since the diminishing of the Group A series and will continue to be part of Australian culture. I mean, if you're looking for something different, there's always the Nurburgring 24 hour races.
Frank - you have vrey valid points in your statements, and i do completely agree with you!
Lol i don't know what else to say.
Rod, want to comment on this?
Frank- you made an absolutely great point in the ipod vs casette. This is what makes me so annoyed at the present v8 supertaxis, and is a great case of tall poppy syndrome. It was no fault of the r32 and sierra being incredibly fast but this should have pushed the competition to produce a faster and more competitive machine. This is what drives the racing industry to greater heights pushing people to come up with new technologies. However all the shift to V8's did was saying "oh we're not good enough to compete so we'll just ban you".
Yeah that is true to how they banished the turbo cars and how the 2.0 BMWs withdrew, creating the V8 Supercars series we know today, however I'm sure that many people have now adjusted themselves to the latest form of Holden vs Ford rivalry which we all enjoy today.
The V8 machines today produce about 620-650bhp (similar output to the Skyline GT-R back then) with the use of modern technology in their engines such as ITBs and the ability to run on E85 race fuel. So this might mean that the local teams are catching up in terms of technology.
Oh and by the way, you guys are talking to a sixteen-year old guy who doesn't even have his license yet
The death of Group-A had nothing to do with V8s, tall poppy syndrome or anthing...
In 1993 Germany dropped Group-A in the DTM, what did that have to do with GT-Rs beating V8s?
In 1992 England dropped Group-A in the BTCC, what did that have to do with GT-Rs beating V8s?
p.s. The crowd booed Richards/Skaife in a 6-cyl Turbo because a crashed car won a red flagged race.
They thought Dick Johnson in a 4-cyl Turbo should have won the race.
GT-R's weren't actually banned from racing in Australia. Group A touring car racing was ending worldwide thus leaving countries to introduce their own touring car championships. Australia went with V8s because they were more popular. However the GT-R did play a significant role in the demise of group A. Their domination did lead to dwindling crowd numbers which inevitably killed the group A touring car formula.
I LIKE HOW THIS GUY PRONOUNCES NISSAN, SORRY!!!
Laurence has it. Richards and Skaife had crashed, but the race was red flagged soon after. They had been leading on the last completed race lap and were handed the victory even though their car wasn't driveable. Richards called the booing fans "a pack or arseholes".
Only in Australia.
Hey you guys you got to remember how competitive Group A was during the 80's and the amount of evolution that each manufacture had during that time. I think a great example was the BMW M3. Unfortunately Australian manufactures didn't have that luxury, time or money to keep up with the European or Japanese competition. I remember someone told me that towards the end of the 80's Johnson's turbo Sierra was putting out 750hp in qualifying trim running huge boost. But having all that power makes an interesting drive I think that Johnson could only understand.
It was great to see a Japanese car come in and beat the Sierra's, if anyone could remember because towards the end of Group A most of the top cars were all Sierra's anyway, instead of calling it the Bathurst 1000 , I used to say Sierra 1000.
Credit is due to Fred Gibson and all of his team members and drivers for creating such a professional and competitive car. I think Nissan and Datsun deserved a win at Bathurst after all they have been in the game for years, remember Howard Marsden used to run the team before Gibbo took over. Interesting to note that Howard Marsden used to run the Australian Factory Ford GTHO's in the early 1970's.
From turbo Bluebirds to DR30 Skylines, HR31 Skyline GTS-R to the R32 GT-R, you cant blame Nissan for building a better mouse trap, like all the other manufactures were doing.