This chapter would not be completed without the priceless contribution of the
fellow Datsun-Nissan and Z ethusiasts, whose segments provided with valuable sources to the
compilation of the whole story.
Would it surprise enyone to know that Nissans and Datsuns hold a manufacturers record of over
80 (Sport Car Club America) SCCA racing titles? That they have not only competed at Le Mans, but they have won it. That they
won Daytona not just 4 times, but 4 years in a row? That Nissan sports cars, sedans, and Prototype
racers have over 200 FIA (Federation Internationale L'Automobile) and IMSA (International Motor Sport
Association) titles?
That Datsuns have won the worlds toughest rally, the East African Safari Rally, at least 7 times outright,
with even more podium finishes than that. That their cars and trucks have over 20 off road titles
under their steel belts?
Then hold on, because this part of Nissans history is going to blow your socks off..
 Early
Japanese racing |
Datsuns began their racing history before WWII in Japan in as early as 1930..
The first race wins by a Datsun were recorded around 1936 in Japan. A Datsun Midget
took the checkered flag at the Japan Motor Vehicle Competition at Tamagawa Speedway. The
Midget was powered by at 747cc engine.
Datsun cars were probably raced in Japan throughout the 30's and right up until the
Second World War. .....
(Continue)
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| The small "Pony"
that famed the Datsun Make |
The first international rally appearance by Datsun was the 1958 Australia Mobil Gas Trial,
basically an off road one lap of Australia that chewed up cars at an unbelievable rate.
(Continue)
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| The First Success -
Fairlady Roadsters 1963 - 1970 Japan |
The Datsun Fairlady, in each of it's 1500, 1600 and 2000 guises, scored major success in the
Touring Class of the Japanese Grand Prix, throughout its production run.
The first Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka over the weekend of 3rd/4th May 1963, not long
after the launch of the Fairlady 1500 in October 1962........
(Continue)
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| Beginning of the
American Datsun Racing Era |
Datsuns started winning in The States in the early 60's. Datsun's unofficial US competition
department started out as a few guys from around the office preparing cars on their own time.
They had the blessing of Nissan USA President Yutaka Katayama, "Mr. K", with the strict rule
that all racing projects must be done on their own time. .....
(Continue)
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| American Roadser
Cause |
The Datsun Roadster was raced to ten National SCCA Championships over a 20 year period.
The first of these Championships, which also represented Nissan's first National
Championship, was collected by Bob Sharp in 1967...
(Continue)
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| European Roadsters
on the track (Monte and Tulip Rally) |
Although widely thought of as not being sold in Europe, the Datsun Roadster series was exported
in small numbers to certain markets. First Fairlady to come to Europe was a rare 1200cc 4-seater
Fairlady SPL213, which was imported by Horst Sommer, a company based in Innsbruck, Austria.......
(Continue)
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| Peak of Zeds involvement
in US motorsport |
In the heyday of sport car racing in the 1960s and 1970s, the manufacturers had an old
saying: "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday". No car better illustrated this point than the 240Z.
Nissan knew that successful competition would sell cars.......
(Continue)
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| 240Zs
replacing Roadsters on the world rally scenes |
The Japanese firm of Datsun have made quite an impression on international rallying with their
1600 SSS saloons, and one finished eighth on last year's RAC 'with Rauno Aaltonen at the wheel.
This year (1970) they have their new 240Z Coupe, which disposes of about 200 bhp. Aaltonen is again
driving but this time with Paul Easter, and the team is completed by Tony Fall/Gerry Phillips
and the Safari winners, Edgar Hermann/Hans Schuller. A fourth car has been lent for a one-off
drive to John Bloxham/Norman Salt.......
(Coming soon)
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| The
GT-R has an incredible racing history |
In Group A racing series, the GT-R won every single race, winning 29 races in 4 years of the series' life.
In JGTC, the R32 GT-R dominated the series until the regulations were modified prohibiting all-wheel-drive
systems (when the GT-R was the only 4wd competitior in the series), forcing NISMO to convert the JGTC
GT-R race cars to rear-wheel-drive only. Even then, the GT-R continued to collect victories, with the
last one being the overall series champion in JGTC GT500 2004 - the last year of its competition. In
the same year, in GT300, the 350Z took home the victory, showing just how dedicated Nissan is to
racing in Japan. The GT-R and the Z have always been and always will be sister cars, especially with
the next GT-R featuring a VQ engine. ......
(Continue)
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| Japan Grand
Touring Championship - Super GT |
Nissan Motor Company & Nissan Motorsports International (NISMO) announced
its participation in the Super GT series for 2005. Four Fairlady Z (350Z) cars will
contest the GT500 category, joined by three privateer-run machines in GT300......
(Continue)
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| Godzilla is
back again |
TOKYO (Oct. 30, 2007) - NISSAN GT-R race car for the GT500
class of Japan's SUPER GT series underwent a shakedown at the renowned Suzuka
Circuit from October 29 - 30 supervised by NISMO (Nissan Motorsports
International Co., Ltd.).
The vehicle is scheduled to debut in the series
next year. The 2-day test, conducted under sunny skies, went smoothly with
NISMO's regular drivers, Satoshi Motoyama, Michael Krumm and Tsugio Matsuda,
behind the wheel. The test was designed to obtain important data for the race
car's further development.
(Continue)
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