F YOURECKONTHOSEShellV-Power
Mustangsaredominant,thinkagain.
Nearly 30 years ago, the Group A
racingversionoftheR32NissanGT-R
wasasclosetounbeatableasit gets.
It was so good, so technically
advanced, it killed the category.
Worldwide,homologation iconslike
theFordSierraCosworthRS500and
BMW M3 Evo just couldn’t compete against the
Japaneseall-wheel-drivewonder.
InAustralia,thedevastation– andstultification–
wassocomplete,theR32racerbegatthereturnof
all-AustralianV8HoldenversusFordrivalryontrack.
YoucanthanktheR32forwhatbecameSupercars.
Intwoyears,thecardubbed‘Godzilla’– anAussie
sobriquetthatwentviralgloballybeforetheinternet
era– changedthefaceoftouringcarracingforever.
No more homologation specials, no more all-
singing,all-dancingproduction-basedracers.
Rarelyhassucha greatracecarbeensovilified.
LocalfanshatedtheGT-Randrivalsresentedit.Thatenmity
resulted in JimRichards’ immortal line“You’rea bunchof
arseholes”tothebayingaudienceashecelebratedhis and
MarkSkaife’sflood-shortenedvictoryatBathurstin1992.
V8legendsRichardsandSkaife,guidedbyacclaimedNissan
team bossFred Gibson,established the GT-R in Australian
motor racing folklore– andinfamy–by overwhelmingthe
oppositionin ’91/92.Ford folk hero Dick Johnson andhis
Sierras,thefactorybackedBMWsandHolden’sgameGroup
ACommodorewereeatenalivebyGodzilla.But,contraryto
popularopinion,theGT-Rwasa monstertodrive.
Alongsidetheracingprogram,NissanAustralia– inthefinal
throesofits25-oddyearsasa localmanufacturer– ADRedthe
R32GT-Rforlimitedsalehere.At$110,000– anextraordinary
amountbackthen– the 100 carsprovedveryslowtomove.
Now, of course, Aussie R32s are gold. Nissan Australia
recentlyboughtbackthismonth’scovercaranditwasdriven,
nostalgically,bySkaifeaspartofourreminiscence.
We’ve gathered Skaife, Gibson and former
NissanOzproductplanning,designandSpecial
VehiclesbossPaulBerangeratKooyongLawn
Tennis Club in Melbourne to recount the
Godzillaracingtale.
Two things to remember. Introduced in
mid-1991,NissanAustralia’snewhalocarwas
a Skyline GT-R. And the Skyline sedan had
beenthecompany’slocallymadesix-cylinder
Commodore/Falconfighteruntil1988.
AsidefromtheSkylinetag,theywereunrelated.Butthemore
closelyalignedDR30SkylineRSandHR31SkylineGTS-Rhad
carriedtheNissanflaginAustralianGroupAfrom1986-90.
TheR32GT-Rtookoverlateinthe’90season,helpingRichards
winNissan’sfirstAustralianTouringCarChampionship.
Hewonthetitleagainin’91beforeSkaifeascendedin’92,
withtheirGT-RmonsteringMountPanoramainbothyearsto
finallyendtheNissanBathurstquestthathadbegunin 1981
withthefastbutfragileGroupCBluebirdTurbo.
HowtheR32SkylineGT-RroadcargottoAustraliaiscovered
elsewhereinthisspecial50th-anniversarycelebrationissueof
MOTOR. It wasanattempttodirectlylinktheearly’90sracing
programwitha modelactuallysoldhere.Allverytenuousand,
asit turnedout,horrendouslyexpensiveexercisesforboththe
roadandraceversions.
For theracing R32,theGibson squadhadtomakealot
ofchangestomakeitcompetitivelocallyandcontaincosts,
despitegenerousfactorybacking.
“Youhavetorememberthatourtouring car categoryin
Australiawasverycompetitive,andthethingis,a Japanese-
specracecarwouldn’twin here,”Gibson says.“Itwouldn’t
be quick enough against the Ford Sierras and Holden
Commodores.Sowehadtohomologatethepartsonit thatwe
wantedonthecarwiththeFIAthroughCAMStomaketherace
cara bettercar,andthattooka lotofwork.”
AddsBeranger:“NismoinJapanwasn’ttooimpressedwhen
wetoldthemweneededtochangetheirprideandjoy.”
However,Nismoquicklycameonboardtohelptheupstart
AussiesgetthebestoutoftheGodzillaracer.ABOVE
Touringcarchampion
MarkSkaifeandguru
teamownerFred
Gibsonrecalltheglory
dayswhentheyruled
localGroupA racing
withtheR32OPPOSITE
SkaifeandJim
Richardsdominated
the 1991 Bathurst1000,
takingpolebymore
thana secondand
winningbya lapLEFT
Historicall-Nissan
frontrow,withSkaife
andMarkGibbsin
anotherGibson-built
GT-Raheadofthe
previouslydominant
FordSierraCosworths➜
THE R32
CHANGED THE
FACE OF
TOURING CAR
RACING
FOREVER
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