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1963 - THE FIRST SUCCESS - THE FAIRLADY 1500
Although the main event featured such exotics as the Porsche Carrera, the Aston Martin DB4,
a Ferrari 250LM and a Lotus (the eventual outright winner), the Touring Class (1300-2500cc)
was won by Genichiro Tawara driving a Datsun Fairlady in its first major event.
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Tawara was a keen sportscar enthusiast, and the Fairlady he entered was his own car. Although
he approached Nissan for support, they were new to circuit racing and were unable to offer
much assistance.
Before the race, he undertook practice sessions at Suzuka, familiarising
himself with the circuit and testing different set-ups. |
Tawara's Silver Fairlady |
Tawara's sponsorship was minimal. His silver Fairlady sported decals on the rear panel from
Tokyo Nissan (a dealership with some sporting tradition) and the SCCJ (the Sports Car Club
of Japan, formed by Mr Katayama).
NGK were the only visible sponsor, with decals on both front wings.
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With perspex screens, roll bar and stripped of her sideways rear seat, the silver Fairlady
took on a varied field of Triumph TR2s, 3s and 4s, two MGAs, an MGB and a Fiat 1500 Convertible.
She eventually crossed the finish line 6 seconds before the second placed Triumph, to great
local jubilation.
At this point Nissan took an avid interest. Genichiro Tawara toured the
Japanese Nissan dealers with his Fairlady and Nissan helped him form the SCCN. He was also
retained by Nissan to spearhead it's works racing and rallying efforts. |
Tawara's Fairlady leads the field
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The 1963 winning Fairlady is now owned by Nissan and still tours the show circuits. Unrestored,
she still retains her original decals and is in exceptionally good condition for her age.
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1966 - ENTER THE 1600 (& THE FAIRLADY S)
The 1966 event was the inaugural meeting for the new Fuji Circuit. Nissan, competing with the new
Fairlady 1600, had something altogether more special on show.
The 1600 competed in the GT-II Class and qualified well. The 'Works' car, No. 22, qualified
nearly 5 seconds faster than the nearest Lotus, 12 seconds faster than the nearest Porsche
911 and 59 seconds faster than the only MG (last on the grid). The race proper was initially
a close affair, with Fairladies (Nos. 20 & 21) eventually completing a convincing 1-2, some
40 seconds ahead of the 3rd place Porsche 911.
The winning driver was Motoharu Kurosawa.
The 1600s were more powerful than their production equivalents. The standard Hitachi-SUcarbs
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The Winning Fairlady 1600
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replaced by Mikuni-Solex items similar to those used on production 150hp 2000s a year later.
In addition, a competition camshaft and other engine modifications helped the 1600 produce
an estimated 140hp (against the production car's 96hp).
..............The 1966 Fairlady 'S'.....................
................The Fairlady 'S' Cam Cover.............
In the GP-II Class, competing against the likes of the newly unveiled Toyota 2000 GT and the Cobra
Daytona Coupe, Nissan revealed an exciting variation on the Fairlady theme. The Datsun Fairlady 'S'
boasted a twin overhead cam, 6 cylinder, 12 spark plug, twin distributor, 2-litre engine, a whole year
ahead of the launch of the single overhead 4-cylinder 2000. The takeover of Prince, with all the OHC
expertise that PMC brought with them, undoubtedly influenced the development of this 'UY' engined
prototype, not to mention the production Nissan/Datsun OHC engines that followed.
As well as the prototype engine, the car featured lighter vented body panels, streamlined panels
under the chassis, and Minilight style wheels. The doors had no handles and were opened from a
recess in the door jamb. The rear arches were also cut away and flared to accommodate the alloy
wheels. The 'S' still retained drum brakes at the rear.
The Fairlady 'S' qualified a remarkable 1st on the grid, much to the excitement of the crew and
surprise of the crowds. In the race proper, she competed well, until ignition problems caused
her to retire after 36 laps of the 60 lap race. She was sadly never to race again, although the
entry was a sign of Nissan's serious approach to track competition.
At the time of writing, a Japanese SROC member owned the remains of a 'UY' spec. prototype engine,
a truly rare piece of Nissan competition history.
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1967 - ENTER THE 2000
The 1967 event saw the recently launched SR311 2000 in it's element. A Nissan 'Works' team
of Mikuni-Solex aspirated Fairladies in dark red were entered in the GT-II Class, alongside
a field of independently backed 2000s, 1600s and Lotus Elans. 2000s took up the 4 front row
places on the grid with the Works Fairladies Nos. 47, 48 & 49 in pole, 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
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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