GTR GRP

The R32 Skyline GT-R was designed from the outset to go group a racing and win, which it did. The R32 Skyline GT-R won every single Japanese touring car championship race from 1990 to 1993. But what Gibson Motorsport did with the Godzilla in the Australian touring car championship could be considered even more impressive, winning the 1991 and 1992 championship and the iconic Bathurst 1000 races, of which one was highly controversial, and changed the landscape of Australian motor racing. 2022 marks the 30th anniversary since the R32 Skyline GT-R last won Bathurst and raced under Group A regulations in Australia. Were lucky enough to be invited to the Gibson Motorsport 30 year reunion. This event not only brought together the four remaining chassis, but brought together staff, drivers and contractors involved with the team during the time of Godzilla. It wasn't open to the public and for many was a genuine first time catch up in a long time. This flowed along with the stories and laughs. It was a team. I was very much a team. It's a team effort and there's no one stands out and no one's equal. I was as equal. We're all as equal. All got to do our job and do our job well. And I think that bonded together very well and the team was very successful. Yeah. See the cars and the famous nature of what those cars mean to Australian motorsport, but especially to our group is extraordinary and for Fred in particular, but for Jim Richards and I and plenty of the other drivers, the cars are a very special part of the history of the sport and especially, A team of guys that sort of look good. The truck look good. The car look good. But also you got the results that you were looking for. So performance was the other thing and he was prepared to throw out it, whatever he could get to achieve that financially and time and whatever else it was needed sort of thing. And yeah, by far he was the leading person as far as the level of, I think competitive, level of standard went as far as sort of presenting a race team. And that sort of reflects back into the people as well too, because they know that if your lead is trying to get the best out of what you've got and given it everything you've got, then I mean, everybody sort of rises the occasion as well. For us, it was great to catch up with Alan Heafey and Jim Richards again and also meet Fred Gibson for the first time, as well as meet some of the mechanics involved with the GTR. Some of the stories we got to hear were incredible. Some which we may release someday and some we probably can't. Finding out just how developed our cars were compared to the Japanese cars and how our development led to changes in the Japanese cars as well as Nismo developing new parts was very interesting. Proving Australia has been at the forefront of GTR tuning since the very beginning. I think Fred re-engineered and with the boys, re-engineered the GTR to become Australianized, you might say. So it was a lot stronger and probably a quicker car than what the Japanese had. Today to see so many people that made that all possible, because it's not just about the funding, it's actually about building cars and going racing. And of the day, it was not only the n And it's always a good sign when the Japanese don't want you to go to Japan and go racing against them. Because clearly at that time the GTRs were the best GTRs in the world. And there was so many of the people in this room that contributed to not only the build and the performance, but the durability of what was an incredibly complex car. And I think we all remember when the first car arrived, we knew how fast it was, but we certainly knew that it had plenty of flaws. The work that was done to Australianise that car to be able to make it do a thousand kilometres and to do what Fred always said to Richie and I was to drive the wheels off it, that made the difference and certainly that was what gave us the results. The team worked their b And remember as Mark just said a lot, the Japanese were going to go to Fuji and race in Fuji. And Kakimoto-san rang me, used the boss of Motorsport in Japan. And he said, Fred-san, I believe you're coming to Fuji to race. I said, yes we are, we've been invited, not a good idea. And they didn't want us to come anywhere near them because our car would have blown the socks off them. Because over there they controlled the formula. We're here, we're at the race of the people. When we look at buying parts from Japan, And we made our own wheels. Captain Drage and Adelaide made our own wheels. We didn't use very simple, very few Japanese parts in the cars. It was all done in Australia, it was all developed in Australia. And the dyno like, But when you've got your own, we had two dyno cells and those sorts of things, you can sort of work day and night which the guys did to get the result. Meeting the people involved was great but the chance to get up close and personal with all four Group A cars was incredible. The two Bathurst winning cars in the original livery took pride of place in the centre. Both cars have been rebuilt, raced and had upgrades to keep them racing. The GIO car is the same and currently does do plenty of racing on track. The final car has been kept in the Lindsay Fox Muse It's never been restored, upgraded or raced. The only visual difference we could find was the removal of the Boost Limiting Pop-off valve replaced by a Blile valve. It was We have a full shoot and feature coming out in GTR Hub Magazine Vol All in all, it was an incredible experience that will The value of these cars is ever increasing, so seeing one on track is getting rarer and rarer. And the possibility of a drive or passenger ride is basically impossible. So we have come up with our own solution to help us and you, our viewers and fans, get a Group A experience and continue the R32 Skyline GTR Legacy. Subscribe and check out the video being released on our channel on the day of the 2022 Bathurst 1000 October 9th to find out more.