Nissan celebrates over 50 years of racing
There are vintage car races every month of the year, but few draw such amazing machines as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Each year the Reunion has a featured marque and this year it was Nissan, previously known as Datsun. This was the very first time a Japanese manufacturer was honored as the featured marque in 45 years of running the event! As you can imagine, excited Datsun racers and fans around the nation made plans to attend the Reunion held 8/23-26 at Laguna Seca Raceway.
We had a blast at the RMMR and I was once again fortunate to be on the Z Car Garage pit crew for several race cars. Read further for our report, illustrated by a 200+ shot gallery with videos. Enjoy! Here is a short introductory video highlighting the Nissan/Datsun group photo (50 cars!) and a taste of racing action to come:
An epic showing from Nissan Motorsports
Nissan really rose to the occasion, bringing historically significant race cars from Japan to offer a museum-like collection under its paddock tent. Our friends at Japanese Nostalgic Car (JNC) took an in-depth look at each of the cars displayed, catch their excellent coverage HERE. My favorites were the #46 BRE 510, Grand-Prix dominating R382, hyper-rare Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car, and of course the monstrous GTP ZX Turbo car. We wish they would have driven them on the track!
Datsun fans unite
When the announcement was made that Nissan would be the featured marque at the RMMR, we knew it had to be an unforgettable experience for all Datsun enthusiasts. An event “not to be missed”, and that is where The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) comes in. We reached out to club secretary Ann Devor, and her team coordinated a Nissan-only parking corral AND a parade lap around the world famous, 11-turn, 2.238-mile jewel of a road course called Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway.
Car corral attendance was impressive, and it was absolute bliss for all participants. There were over 130 cars including Datsun 510s, Z cars and roadsters followed by Z32s, Z33s, Z34s and GT-Rs.
Staging for the parade lap was awesome with smiles everywhere! Living legend Pete Brock even rode shotgun in a Datsun Roadster as the lead car. We were fortunate to get almost two full laps in, at a surprisingly brisk pace. Please see our picture gallery and link (from Jason Green) for shots of your car!
Missed out on the fun? In the video below you can see my coverage of the car corral and parade lap. Also included is parade lap footage captured from the Corkscrew, one of the track’s infamous turns, thanks to Gary Savage:
Serious recognition for Japanese Classics
The Reunion is a highlight for race fans, but it is also part of Monterey Car Week which is filled with classy events like auctions and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance. Another first for Japanese cars was the Japanese Automotive Invitational hosted by Infiniti. This inaugural event displayed landmark Japanese vehicles. While I did not have a chance to visit the JAI, Speedhunters did. We are proud of three cars displayed: Tim Corcoran’s stunning ’64 Datsun 1500, a hakosuka Skyline GT-R from our friends at JDM Legends, and Brian Kippen’s Nissan Patrol:
Epic racing
With 50 Nissan/Datsuns racing this year the starting grid for Group 3B (B-sedan, roadsters), Group 5A (IMSA GTU) and even Group 7B (IMSA GTO) was a fan’s wish come true. Z Car Garage supported 5 race cars, and Rob Fuller would be driving one of them as well. Rob’s operational plan was to assign one technician per race car to ensure that all were ready for each session. It was an orchestral process to watch unfold, and we pulled it off as all 5 cars made it through the Pre-Reunion week and race!
Take a lap with John Morton in the BRE Datsun 240z
For this year’s Reunion, Z Car Garage prepared and supported the #46 BRE Datsun 240z piloted once again by our hero John Morton. Owner Randy Jaffe restored this Z over several years with fanatic attention to detail. The Z was shipped to ZCG from Georgia, needing refreshing from racing earlier this year at The Mitty (Nissan was also the featured marque).
At 76 years of age John Morton is still formidable behind the wheel!
Enjoy this extended video with in-car footage of John dicing it up with Porsche RSRs and BMW CSLs…Long Live The Z!
John finished the race as the fastest Z car in the field! 8th overall out of 52 cars with a best lap time of 1:41.8. The BRE 240z also enjoyed the Monterey scene off the track, taking a trip to the lush greens of the Quail and shop-lined streets of the Carmel Concours. The video below shows the drive to these events and features a bonus interview from Motor Trend with Rob at Z Car Garage:
Rob Fuller’s RMMR debut
Photo: Drew Phillips
It was Nissan’s first time being honored at RMMR, and the first time Rob Fuller would race a historically significant Z car. You might recall the story behind this special, 1972 IMSA GTU 240z as it was owned, built and raced in the 70’s by none other than Joel Anderson. ZCG restored #49 back to its former glory and it debuted at RMMR 2014. John Morton would drive #49 at RMMR 2015.
Rob eventually became the owner of #49 and earned his SCCA competition license while the Z was waiting patiently since 2015. He wanted his first drive to be special. And it was very special, almost surreal. From cheering on John Morton from the stands a decade ago to racing with him…epic!
Adding to the experience was the support from friends and family. Having Joel Anderson close by to see his old Z racing and Rob’s excitement was endearing. Everyone was proud of you Rob!
Watch Rob pilot #49 in the video below:
Rob drove #49 hard and finished the race 14th overall out of 52 cars, posting a best lap time of 1:44.4
Alex McDowell races 3 cars at RMMR
Alex raced his 1967 Datsun Bluebird Coupe, 1972 Skyline and 1979 Jim Fitzgerald Datsun 280zx at RMMR. The most exciting race to watch was Group 3B, B-sedans and roadsters. Alex absolutely railed on the Bluebird and it made for a fun show.
Alex raced with notable 510 drivers Troy Ermish (#9), Jim Froula(#52), Dave Stone(#93), Glenn Chiou(#21), Taz Harvey (#51) and Datsun Roadsters Mike Anderson (#38) and Steve Link (#23). Watch this extended in-car video below of Alex piloting the Bluebird. Alex finished the race 12th/50 cars with a best lap of 1:48.1. Lots of action in this one!
Alex’s Skyline
Alex raced the Hako successfully at the Pre-Reunion and a few qualifying sessions during the race week.
Enjoy this in-car video below, speakers up!!!
Alex’s Datsun 280zx
Alex ran the Jim Fitzgerald 280zx in Group 7B: IMSA GTO, GTU with some wild rotary and Trans Am cars. He was having too much fun in the Bluebird so did run the car in the final race. The Z ran well throughout the Pre-Reunion and qualifying where Alex was running 1:44s. Here is a short video of the Z in action:
The greatest Datsun paddock ever
The best part of the RMMR has to be the paddock. Home to all the race cars and their teams, massive car transporters and an all-around pure sensory overload. At every corner there is wicked metal with history begging to be told. This year, it was all about Datsun Alley. Z Car Garage was proud to be part of this iconic row of Datsuns and fellow racers.
We were fortunate to share our tent with our friend Troy Ermish and his freshly restored “penny” 510. Troy handily won the B-sedan race! Not only did he help transport our cars to RMMR, his rig also provided us room to park the ZCG race cars. Thanks Troy!
Directly across from us was our buddy Glenn Chiou, running both his Loren St. Lawrence 240z and B-Sedan 510!
A few steps away, Randy’s trailer and BRE Datsun 240z were stationed in prime real estate between Nissan’s epic display and Adam Carolla’s tent:
Randy displayed the original SCCA Championship drivetrain, complete with original exhaust pipes that John Morton blew up at The Mitty!
Both Randy’s and our tents had refreshments and swag for friends and fans. John Morton and Sylvia were again total class acts, signing everything for Datsun nuts could imagine. Pete Brock was nearby with fans as well. Living Legends!
I love how anyone can experience racing up close and personal at the RMMR. The paddock is filled with opportunities to meet with drivers and literally touch (or at least sit inside) historic race cars. Andy and I got intimate with the Le Mans-winning #75 Steve Millen Z32 Turbo….it was a great Nissan nerd moment:
The paddock can be hectic to absorb. Taking all the sights, sounds and smells of the paddock while making it to that perfect viewing spot for the next race is a challenge. Fortunately there were some great photographers to capture some of the action, from Bob Heathcote, Naveed Yousafzai, Nissan and more.
If it’s video you crave, check out my paddock highlights below including Z Car Garage, Datsun Alley, pit lane, the Nissan GTR50, and more!
Datsun Roadsters at RMMR
The largest recent gathering of Datsun Roadsters ever happened at the RMMR. 15 cars were accepted and 12 participated. Impossible to highlight each one but we want to call special attention Mike Anderson’s #38 Rock Vest 2000:
After spinning the 1968 SRL in Turn 5 at the Spring Classic event earlier this year, Mike restored the body/suspension. Looking better than new he made it to the RMMR, wheeling this roadster to 8th place overall running a 1:47.6. Below is my video coverage of the roadsters in the paddock and on the track, enjoy!
Please visit the gallery for more roadster pictures, and you can see in-car footage from Mike’s car HERE.
Living my roadster dream
Thanks to Tim Arnett and Rob Fuller I was able to fulfill my dream of parking my roadster in the paddock and participating in the parade lap/car corral. Tim was kind enough to let me park next to his winningest ’67 Datsun 2000.
Here is a video I took rolling through Datsun Alley in my roadster, it was an experience I will never forget!
Paddock finds
From massive transporters, to exotics and downright crazy vehicles the paddock never disappoints. Here’s a few of my favorites, more in the gallery! Where else can you see a McLaren F1 GT-R, Porsche 959 and Datsun Bluebird 411 in one place!
People
Contributing to the fun were many family and friends. Rob’s mother and Aunt spent the week with us and Josh’s father Keith Corwin was once again an integral part of our team. You can also see our fresh ZCG T-shirts we had made for the event!
We were humbled by the number of people that stopped by including fellow Datsun owners and racers:
Several West Coast friends made the trek to Seca, including Datsun 510 owners Tom, Nick and Matt Dockery, Anthony Schwisow and Michael Spreadbury:
Camaraderie
A common love for racing and Datsuns, this was an event filled with helping teammates and enjoying company.
And despite the seriousness of racing, there is always time to laugh:
The crew from Japanese Nostalgic Car!
Living legends
John Morton, Pete Brock John and Steve Millen:
Kirk Allegro (L, below) and John Caldwell were also present! Nissan pulled the BRE 510 out so Rob could take a picture with his idol and his own 510!
Thank you!
We hope you have enjoyed our recap of the 2018 Monterey Historics! Please browse our mega-gallery of pictures from race weekend below. Big thanks to our friends and family members that helped us make this possible including the Troy and Ashley Ermish, Ann Devor, Anthony Schwisow, Jan Trondsen, Herbert Pang, Keith Corwin, Dave Stone, Tim Arnett, Ron Carter, Michael Anderson, Larry Oka, ZCG Crew: Josh, Andy, Vince and Chris and Meghan Fuller. We certainly enjoyed the company of friends and visitors in our paddock, here’s to another year of vintage racing in Monterey, California.
Special thanks to the following contributors to our photo gallery: Ricky Silverio, Naveed Abed, Mark Hutchinson, Matt Dockery, Jose Castro, Michelle McDowell. Huge thanks to Randy Jaffe, John Morton and Sylvia Wilkinson!
Long Live The Z!
Z CARS RULE ONCE AGAIN at Laguna Seca at the next RMMR! That’s right WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is honoring IMSA, which celebrates its 50th anniversary as a sanctioning body in 2019.
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