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The small roadsters taking the palms - The roadster cause
The 1968 Crews in Casino Square, Monte Carlo From Left to Right - Jarvi, Mikkola, Vihervaara and Lusenius.
The first batch of 3-seater Fairlady Roadster 1500s (model SPL310) Nissan sent to Europe were
single carburettor models and were exported to Finland as early as 1962, the year that the 1500
was launched. The reason that Nissan chose Scandinavia was believed to be for the ability to test
the cars in icy conditions.
Later, the 1600 Roadster was advertised in Belgium. The Belgian market may seem an odd market for
Nissan. However, Japanese cars were well received in Belgium during the 1960s and Hino Contessa
saloons and coupes won a number of Belgian awards in 1965, 1966 and 1967 for build quality & design.
The roadster was also sold in Scandinavia & the Netherlands, following Hannu Mikkola's 9th place in
the 1968 Monte Carlo Rally.
Hannu Mikkola brought Datsun's name to the fore in the 1968 Monte Carlo Rally with a 9th position
overall and the less successful Rally the following year.
The Rally's first section, the concentration run, started at midnight on January 19th in eight
cities throughout Europe (including Monte Carlo where both Datsuns started). Hannu Mikkola in
car No. 66 proceeded well over the 3300 km, but Jorma Lusenius in car No. 70 was penalised a
total of 51 minutes when his car developed electrical troubles and had refused to start on a
number of occasions. Lusenius was never expected to make up this time.
Following the concentration run the Rally was made up of two further circuits around Monte Carlo.
Conditions were dry and were to suit the Datsuns well.
From the 200 entrants only 153 cars started the first of the two circuits. This circuit totalled
1491.5 km. and featured 17 road sections and 7 special stages.
The Levens hillclimb ended the first circuit. Of the 153 cars that started the circuit, only 79
had returned to Monte Carlo, of which only 25 were as yet unpenalised, including Hannu Mikkola.
The second circuit comprised a mountain course of 623.5 km. and included a further 11 road sections
and 6 more special stages, the times for which were as follows. On this occasion the placings
include the times of those cars which retired later during this circuit. All stages were held on
the night of January 25th, commencing at 7pm.
Of the 60 crews qualifying for the 2nd circuit, only 45 finished the Rally. The Hannu Mikkola/
Anssi Jarvi crew held on to 9th place overall and 3rd in Class
The Rally had covered a total of over 5400 km in 7 days. |
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The Winning Fairlady 1500 in 1964
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1968 - Tulip Rally
From 1949 until 1990 the Dutch "Tulpen (or Tulip) Rallye"
was a well known rally on the European
stage, and for a number of years it held international status as a European championship rally.
It's status on the rally scene changed in 1991, when it became a "historic rally".
In 1968 the Tulpen Rallye, together with the Rallye Monte Carlo, were two of the main events
in the 16 rally European championship calendar. That year, Nissan elected to compete with the
same cars and crews in both the Monte and the Tulip rallies.
In the Rallye, the Roadster crews perfomed well against an experienced field. Although Mikkola
featured well in the opening stages, Lusenius eventually outperformed him, overturning the result
at the Monte earlier in the year.
The race proper was dominated by the 3 works cars. Only the 53 car, another Fairlady 2000,
split them during the whole race and that was for less than half of the first lap - from
then on, all three Works Fairladies shared the lead in a close fought contest for the
remainder of the 20 lap race.
The eventual winner, No. 49, took the lead in the 17th lap
and held on in an exciting photo-finish with No. 47. No. 48 came third, just two tenths
of a second behind the lead cars. |
The Winning Fairlady 2000
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The race marked the start of total domination by the Fairlady in the same event over the
coming years. The Fairlady 2000 took the top 5 slots in each of the 1968, 1969 and 1970
meetings - a truly remarkable performance.
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