Nissan Skyline HR31: Gunning It in Godzilla

Any video which opens with a Nissan Skyline HR31, or one of its brethren for that matter, straining to maintain traction as it plunges into a lap of Lakeside is one which we want to see more of.

In 1981 Nissan joined the Australian Touring Car Championship, along with BMW and Mazda, and set about knocking Ford and Holden off the top step.

It took just shy of a decade of hard work, but they finally pulled it off in 1990. Once they were up there it was hard to convince them to go anywhere else, and they won the 1991 and 1992 championships as well. This was the age of Godzilla.

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The Skyline HR31 is the car which did it for them. Jim Richards secured three wins and the hotly-contested Drivers’ Championship ahead of Peter Brock, Dick Johnson and a procession of no fewer than six Ford Sierra RS500s.

Richards reunites with his Skyline in this video and you can ride on board for a fiercely quick lap of Lakeside. It looks a little wet out there in the first half of the video, and the way Richards dances on the edge of traction is magic. Hang on tight, turn it up and enjoy.

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