THE Nissan Skyline GTS-R that Jim Richards used to win the 1990 Australian Touring Car Championship is one of an ever-growing number of attractions at New Zealand’s Historic GP at Taupō International Motorsport Park on January 19-21.
The Gibson Motorsport-built and run Skyline was brand new for the ’90 season and used by Richards for the majority of that year’s national touring car championship.
He used it to win the opening round at Amaroo Park in Sydney and the fourth round at Winton in Victoria.
Richards stepped into the brand new Nissan GT-R for the final two rounds to seal the championship, the first ATCC title win for the Japanese manufacturer.
His son Steve will be at the helm of the turbocharged six-cylinder Skyline at the Historic GP racing among the Heritage Touring Cars field that will feature a range of other Group A cars and two-litre Super Tourers.
Steve drove the car at last year’s Repco Bathurst 1000 in a demonstration celebrating the 60th anniversary of the ‘Great Race’ at Mount Panorama.
He’ll also step behind the wheel of one of his former V8 Supercars at Taupō International Motorsport Park at the Historic GP, turning demonstration laps in a Castrol Commodore VY he drove with Larry Perkins at Bathurst in 2003.
The ex-Perkins Commodore joins a range of historically-significant Holdens heading to the event.
Jack Perkins will demonstrate the 1993 Bathurst 1000-winning Castrol Commodore VP and four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy will take the wheel of the Garry Rogers Motorsport-built Monaro he drove to victory in the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour alongside Peter Brock, Todd Kelly and Jason Bright.
Seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes will also be appearing at the event.
V8 Sleuth is the official media partner for the event that will be held on January 19-21 in 2024 at the Taupō International Motorsport Park and broadcast live on Sky Sport in New Zealand and Fox Sports in Australia.
The Taupō Historic GP is the second round of the Super Sprint MotorSport NZ Championship and will host the opening round of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship (CTFROC) as part of a unique modern/historic flavoured race meeting.
The event is also a unique celebration of Trans-Tasman Holden history and will feature a ‘Holden All-Comers’ race open to all Holden race cars with a homologated roll cage and logbook.
Also set to appear are Historic Touring Cars NZ, Historic Sports Sedans, Historic Saloons, Sports and GTs, Formula 5000, Formula Open NZ and Formula Junior/F3/Historic Formula Ford.
