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Gibson Motorsport was an
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...
motor racing team that competed in the
Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...
from 1981 until 2003, though the team had its roots in Gibson's "Road & Track" team which ran a series of Ford Falcon GTHOs in
Series Production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The name of the team was also the name of Fred Gibson's automotive business in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. As Gibson was also a driver for the Ford Works Team, his team was sometimes a pseudo-works team when the Ford factory did not enter.


History


Group C

The team was established by Howard Marsden in 1981 as the in-house factory
Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
motorsport operation after Nissan decided to change from rallying to touring car racing. It made its debut in the 1981 James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst. A limited campaign in the 1982 Australian Touring Car Championship was followed by a more concerted effort in the 1982 Australian Endurance Championship, with Nissan winning the Makes title in that series. This was followed by full campaigns in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
. The 1.8-litre Bluebird turbo was fast but fragile, although
George Fury George Fury (born 31 January 1945, in Hungary) is a retired Australian rally and racing car driver. For the majority of his career Fury was associated with Nissan, twice winning the Australian Rally Championship, and twice runner up in the Austr ...
did finish second in the 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship (without taking a round win) and took pole position in the
1984 James Hardie 1000 The 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian ...
at Bathurst with a lap time that would stand as a record until
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
. At one point of 1984, Marsden had gone to
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
to discuss Nissan's plans for the new
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
category, and when he returned he joined the team at a test session at
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
's
Calder Park Raceway Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clo ...
where lead driver Fury was substantially faster than ever before and had broken the existing touring car lap record on the 1.6 km circuit. Fred Gibson told the story that the normally placid Marsden went into a rage and threatened to fire the entire team on the spot when he found the Bluebird was fitted with a 2.0 litre turbo engine and not the 1.8-litre unit it raced with. Fred Gibson, who gave the Bluebird turbo its first race win in Australian touring car racing during the 1983 AMSCAR Series at
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
's
Amaroo Park Amaroo Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit located in Annangrove, New South Wales, in the present-day north-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1967, the road circuit served as a venue for a variety of competitions including t ...
, retired from driving at the end of 1983 and in 1985 took over from Howard Marsden as team owner/manager. Gibson later described the Bluebird Turbo as ''"A shithouse little car"''.


Group A


1986-1987

After sitting out 1985 while
Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
sorted out the homologation of its first
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
car, Nissan reappeared in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
with two Nissan Skyline RS DR30s, one driven all year by longtime team driver
George Fury George Fury (born 31 January 1945, in Hungary) is a retired Australian rally and racing car driver. For the majority of his career Fury was associated with Nissan, twice winning the Australian Rally Championship, and twice runner up in the Austr ...
, and the second shared between Gary Scott and
Glenn Seton Glenn Seton (born 5 May 1965) is an Australian racing driver. He won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1993 and 1997 while driving for his own team. Although he never won the Bathurst 1000 like his father Barry did in 1965, Glenn star ...
, with Scott claiming pole position for the 1986 James Hardie 1000 (Seton partnered Fury who qualified 3rd). In
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, Seton drove the second car all year to 2nd place both in the 1987 ATCC and at the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst which was also a round of the
inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...
World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...
. Seton's Skyline was co-driven at Bathurst by twice Australian Drivers' Champion and 1986
Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
team driver John Bowe. After Fury took four round wins in the
1986 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 27th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. It began on 2 March 1986 at Amaroo Park and ended on 13 July at Oran Park Raceway after ten rounds. This was the second ATCC to be run ...
and finished an unlucky runner-up in the series to the
Volvo 240T The Volvo 200 Series (or 240 and 260 Series) is a range of mid-size cars produced by Swedish company Volvo Cars from 1974 until 1993, with more than 2.8 million total units sold worldwide. Like the Volvo 140 Series (1966 to 1974), from which it ...
of
Robbie Francevic Robert James Frančević, (born on 18 September 1941 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a retired racing driver who featured prominently in New Zealand and Australia during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest wins were the inaugural Wellington 500 street r ...
, the
Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
sponsored team scored its first big win when Fury and Seton led Scott and new team driver Terry Shiel to a 1–2 win at the
1986 Castrol 500 The 1986 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for cars complying with Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, CAMS Touring Car regulations, which were based on FIA Group A rules. The event was staged on 14 September 1986 over 129 laps of the 3.9  ...
at
Sandown Raceway Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in the suburb of Springvale in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. Sandown is considered a power circuit with its " drag strip" front and back straights be ...
, the traditional warm up event for the
Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
. Fury, partnered by Shiel, would back up to win his second
Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...
in
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
. The Nissan team also raced a
Nissan Gazelle The is the series of small sports cars produced by Nissan. Versions of the Silvia have been marketed as the 200SX or 240SX for export, with some export versions being sold under the Datsun brand. The name "Silvia" is derived from Sylvia, th ...
in the 1987 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship for 20-year-old
Mark Skaife Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...
, who had previously shown good form finishing second in the 1985 and 1986
Ford Laser The Ford Laser is a compact car, originally a subcompact car in the first three generations, which was sold by Ford in Asia, Oceania, and parts of South America and Africa. It has generally been available as a sedan or hatchback, although conve ...
series held at Amaroo Park. Skaife, who had joined the Nissan team as a mechanic in 1987, went on to win the 2.0 Litre championship, winning three of the four rounds of the series to break the stranglehold that
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
had on the baby car class. He was joined at Bathurst in the Gazelle by Adelaide Hills Nissan dealer Grant Jarrett. During qualifying, Jarrett was having trouble making the class cut off time and it looked as if the Gazelle, which due to the race being an
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...
WTCC race was forced to run in a higher engine class than it did in Australia (putting it in the same class as the
BMW M3 The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986. The initial model ...
), would be a non-qualifier. However, late in Friday qualifying Jarrett managed to make the cut. During the time Jarrett was on his qualifying run, Skaife was reportedly nowhere to be seen in the Nissan pits. When the car returned to the pits it was driven straight into the garage and the doors closed. Both drivers emerged a short time later, with Skaife having damp hair and a flushed face while Jarret looked more like he had just got out of a shower than a touring car. This led to speculation it was Skaife and not Jarrett who had just been in the car for its final qualifying run. The pair finished the race in 19th place after numerous mechanical problems which had started within the first 10 laps. Despite the speculation that he had not driven his fastest qualifying laps, in the race Jarrett proved his critics wrong and would be credited with a faster race lap than he recorded in qualifying. However, in a magazine interview almost 20 years later, Fred Gibson admitted that it was indeed Skaife who qualified the car using Jarrett's driving suit and helmet.


1988-1990

For
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, the new
Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R The is a brand of automobile originally produced by the Prince Motor Company starting in 1957, and then by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1967. After the merger, the Skyline and its larger counterpart, the Nissan Gloria, were sold in ...
was introduced. The new car featured a 2.0 Litre turbocharged
Straight-six engine The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bala ...
which produced approximately , almost more than the outdated DR30's turbocharged 4cyl engine. Also, the HR31 featured front and rear spoilers which helped with high speed stability, something the old car lacked with team drivers reporting the cars as being frightful to drive on the high speed Conrod Straight at Bathurst where they were reaching speeds up to in 1986. Unfortunately for the team parts for the car were late in arriving as Nissan also had to supply to teams in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
(the European Nissan team was in fact run by Howard Marsden). This saw the car not debuted until Round 5 in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
in the hands of Seton. Seton and Fury alternated driving the car while the team built its second, and it would not be until Round 8 at Amaroo Park before that second car appeared. Despite the new cars tendency to be unreliable, especially with its transmission, Seton and Fury showed enough speed in the ATCC to give hope to an end of the
Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coefficien ...
domination, though in reality the team was playing catch-up all year having to develop the car as they raced it. The car was also homologated with only a small capacity turbo which limited its power output, with power peaking at around in 1990. At Sandown for the annual
Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...
, the Fury / Skaife car had led for a number of laps (after all the leading Sierras except
Allan Moffat Allan George Moffat OBE (born 10 November 1939 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian-Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four win ...
's had retired or been delayed with mechanical problems), and Skaife was holding a 30-second lead over the
Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia. Biography Early years Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddi ...
/
Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his ...
Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is a full-size car that was sold by Holden from 1978 to 2020. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia endin ...
V8, before retiring while in the lead on lap 94 with differential failure. The Seton / Anders Olofsson car (which Seton had qualified 3rd, though almost two seconds slower than Dick Johnson's pole winning time in a Sierra) had retired on the third lap of the race with the same transmission failure that would put it out within seconds of the start of the Tooheys 1000 a few weeks later. Until the homologation of a proper racing 5-speed Getrag gearbox from 1989, the GTS-R's biggest drawback was its production based transmission. The team suffered a setback in August 1988 when Seton rolled the #15 Skyline during a media day at Bathurst. This would set the tone for a disastrous Tooheys 1000 campaign which saw both Skylines out by lap 17, with Seton's car destroying its gearbox as the green flag was waved to start the race (he made it only as far as the pit exit gate), while Fury's car was out with overheating after the fan belt flew off the engine at close to on Conrod Straight. Against a flock of the all-powerful
Ford Sierra RS500 The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...
s, Fury managed to qualify the Skyline in 10th place at Bathurst. He would use Seton's car in the "Tooheys Dozen" shootout as co-driver Mark Skaife had crashed the #30 car during practice and it was still under repair. Fury (10th) and
Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia. Biography Early years Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddi ...
(8th), driving one of the new Holden Commodore VL SS Group A SVs, were the only non-Ford Sierra drivers to qualify in the Top 10 at Bathurst, though they were joined by the non-Fords of
Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
(BMW M3) and Nissan Europe driver
Allan Grice Allan Maxwell Grice (born 21 October 1942), known to motor-racing fans as "Gricey", is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 (1986 and 1990), and as a privateer driver of ...
(Commodore) in the shootout. 1988 was also the only year the shootout would not decide the top 10 grid positions for the race. In 1989, title sponsor Philip Morris, who was dissatisfied at being given secondary status behind Nissan for their signage on the Skylines throughout 1988, offered its sponsorship
dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...
to Glenn Seton who had left to form his own team,
Glenn Seton Racing Glenn Seton Racing was an Australian motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship Series between 1989 and 2002. History Group A At the end of 1988, Philip Morris were dissatisfied with the level of signage it was offered ...
. Twice ATCC champion and triple Bathurst winner Jim Richards was hired as a replacement. The team expanded to three cars for some events with
Mark Skaife Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...
driving. Wins were achieved at the Winton ATCC round (Fury) and at the
Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...
(Richards/Skaife) with a 3rd and 4th placing at Bathurst. Driving the HR31, Richards was the only non-
Ford Sierra RS500 The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...
driver to qualify for the Tooheys Top 10 pole runoff at Bathurst. For
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
the team reverted to two cars for Richards and Skaife with long time team driver George Fury let go by the team. At round 7 Skaife debuted the 4WD, twin-turbocharged
Nissan Skyline GT-R The is a sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range. The first cars named "Skyline GT-R" were produced between 1969 and 1972 under the model code KPGC10, and were successful in Japanese touring car racing events. This model was followed by ...
at the Mallala Raceway. After qualifying 3rd, Skaife then showed what the previously dominant Sierra runners feared when he stormed to the front and was pulling away from the field before the car suffered a hub failure mid-race. Richards then moved into the GT-R for the last two rounds to win the series at Barbagallo and Oran Park. After finishing 4th in a quiet race in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Richards won the race at Oran Park and secured the first ATCC win for both Nissan and Gibson. The GT-R was favourite to qualify in pole at Bathurst, though brake dramas saw Richards only set 11th best time. In a move that was actually illegal (though it was not known until years later), after discovering problems with the GT-R following Saturday afternoon's final practice session, that night Gibson's team covertly swapped to their spare car (the ATCC car), including putting the Channel 7 Racecam unit into the car so that no one would be any wiser. Using the 'illegal' car, Richards started the race and stormed to the front in less than 10 laps, and despite long pit stops to replace brake pads, would remain a challenger before failing with drive-train failure, though the team was able to get the car back on the track and Richards and Skaife would finish 18th outright, 15 laps down on the winners.


1991-1992

In
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, the team dominated winning all but a handful of races. Richards and Skaife completely dominated the Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst, easily claiming pole (Skaife), fastest lap (Skaife in the team's second car) and winning in race record time. Due to the demise of Group A in Australia after 1992, Skaife's pole time of 2:12.630 at Bathurst remains the fastest recorded Group A time on The Mountain. Following Bathurst, the team were then set to take the race winning Richards/Skaife GT-R to the
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...
in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
for the 1991 Fuji 500 race, but were asked not to do so by the head of
NISMO , abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departmen ...
in Japan. The Japanese company were fearful that the Australian built car would easily outpace and defeat the Japanese GT-Rs at Fuji after having seen at first hand the overwhelming speed of the Gibson built car at Bathurst. NISMO claimed that it would be bad for business for their own factory backed cars, as well as those of their customers, to be soundly beaten by an overseas built (although still factory backed) GT-R. At the end of 1991, the team took their GT-R to
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
for the Nissan Mobil series which saw two 500 km races, the first on the streets of Wellington where Skaife qualified the car second behind the
Schnitzer Motorsport Schnitzer Motorsport was a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car rac ...
BMW M3 Evolution of
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
driver
Emanuele Pirro Emanuele Pirro (born 12 January 1962) is an Italian racing driver who has raced in Formula One, touring cars and in endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans which he has won a total of five times. Two times Italian Karting Champion (19 ...
. After leading early, various suspension problems on the bumpy street circuit saw Richards and Skaife finish 5 laps down in 3rd place. A week later for the
Pukekohe 500 The Pukekohe 500 was an endurance motor racing event first held in 1963 at Pukekohe Park Raceway, Pukekohe, New Zealand, Pukekohe, New Zealand. History The Pukekohe 500 had its origins in the W.D. & H.O. Wills, Wills Six-Hour race that was first ...
on a fast, open circuit which suited the twin-turbo Nissan, Skaife easily qualified on pole before he and Richards went on to a 43-second win over the Schnitzer BMW of Pirro and
Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock (born 24 October 1960) is a German motor racing driver. The younger brother of the late Manfred Winkelhock, Winkelhock was born in Waiblingen, near Stuttgart. The youngest brother, Thomas Winkelhock, and Manfred's son Markus ...
with the Holden VN Commodore, Holden Commodore of Peter Brock and Larry Perkins finishing 3rd. This saw the pair ultimately finish 2nd to Pirro/Winkelhock in the 1991 Nissan Mobil series. For 1992 Australian Touring Car season, 1992, cigarette brand Winfield (cigarette), Winfield joined the team as title sponsor. During the season Confederation of Australian Motorsport, CAMS handicapped the GT-Rs in an attempt to bring it back to the field, which included upping the cars weight from 1360 to 1500 kg over the course of the year (40 kg was added before the ATCC and another 100 kg was added before the endurance races), as well as adding pop-off valves to the turbos to restrict power. In spite of this and the team's year long claim that the cars were no longer competitive (which even led to court action in a failed attempt to have the handicaps lifted), Mark Skaife won the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship, and then again teamed with Jim Richards to win the crash shortened 1992 Tooheys 1000, Tooheys 1000, with teammates Anders Olofsson and Neil Crompton finishing in third place. Richards went on to finish the turbo era in style when he drove the GT-R to win both of the "Clarke Shoes Group A Finale" races at the 1992 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide.


V8 Supercars


Holden

For 1993 Australian Touring Car season, 1993, Australian touring car racing moved to the V8 Supercars, 5.0L V8 formula open only to Ford Motor Company of Australia, Ford and Holden (though at the time, Naturally aspirated engine, naturally aspirated 2.0 litre cars were allowed by CAMS and actually had their own 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship, championship run concurrently with the ATCC. These cars would soon evolve into the Super Touring class). Given his previous history with Ford being a factory team driver for them in the 1960s and 1970s, and with Rothmans also leasing its fleet from Ford, it was expected that Fred Gibson would return to the Blue Oval. However, after being less than impressed with Ford's offered deal, and with a better financial package on offer from Holden, Gibson Motorsport elected to race Holden VP Commodores. The team started with two cars assembled with many customer Holden Racing Team and Perkins Engineering components. After a lacklustre championship for all Commodore runners after it was found that the aero package devised for the VP Commodore by Tom Walkinshaw Racing in 1992 wasn't right (this was rectified with a revised package in mid-ATCC which saw the Commodores, especially the Winfield cars, vastly more competitive), the team were on the pace at 1993 Tooheys 1000, Bathurst, with Skaife and Richards qualifying and finishing 2nd behind the similar VP Commodore (though one running a Holden V8 engine rather than the Chevrolet small-block engine, Chevrolet V8 engine used by GMS and other top-level teams) of
Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia. Biography Early years Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddi ...
and Gregg Hansford. The team's second Commodore driven by Anders Olofsson and David Brabham, who had also qualified in the top 10, finished in 4th place, two laps down on their teammates. In 1994 Australian Touring Car season, 1994 after the aero revisions to the VP Commodores during the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship (won easily by ex-Gibson driver Glenn Seton driving a Ford EB Falcon), Skaife won his 1994 Australian Touring Car Championship, second ATCC and the team's 4th overall. 1994 Tooheys 1000, Bathurst was not so kind to the team. Skaife qualified the #1 VP Commodore in 3rd position and in the early (very) wet laps was battling for the lead with the HRT Commodore of Peter Brock and the Castrol Commodore of Perkins. Unfortunately their race ended on lap 39 with accident damage. The #2 car, driven by Olofsson and veteran Colin Bond in his last ever drive at Bathurst, started in 12th place and survived the wet/dry conditions throughout the day to finish 6th outright on the lead lap. In practice at Eastern Creek Raceway, Eastern Creek in January 1995, Skaife had a major accident that kept him from driving in the opening round of the 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship, Touring Car Championship. This coupled with the need to find a new major sponsor following the Government of Australia, Federal Government's decision to ban all tobacco advertising in Australia from 1 January 1996, and a mid-season workshop move saw the team off the pace throughout much of 1995 Australian Touring Car season, 1995, although Skaife would win the Eastern Creek round. At 1995 Tooheys 1000, Bathurst, the Richards/Skaife car dominated the first 65 laps of the race, including showing some remarkable fuel economy (most of the Commodores and Falcons were pitting at around 28-30 laps while the #1 Winfield sponsored car first pitted on lap 38) before a broken tailshaft ended their race. The fuel economy did not seem to affect the Holden VR Commodore's performance as Skaife, who was in the car at the time of the failure, was building on the handy lead Richards had given him and was pulling away from the chasing Ford EF Falcon, Fords of Seton and John Bowe. The team's second car driven by Anders Oloffson and Jim Richards' son Steven Richards, Steven went on to finish the race 4th outright. From the end of 1995 tobacco sponsorship was outlawed. In a tight market, the team struggled to find a replacement sponsor, running just one plain white car in the opening rounds of 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship, 1996 ATCC for Skaife. Eventually some funding came the team's way from Sega and Holden's Network Q second hand division, but it was a long way short of the team's previous funding levels. As a result of the lack of funds, GMS was forced to release Jim Richards. The financial situation also saw the team fall behind on development which saw Skaife fall to 9th in the ATCC. The team then recruited dual British Touring Car Championship, BTCC champion John Cleland (racing driver), John Cleland to partner Skaife at 1996 AMP Bathurst 1000, Bathurst where Skaife would qualify the car 9th and the pair would finish in a credible 7th outright. The situation didn't improve in 1997 Australian Touring Car season, 1997 with the team having to miss some rounds due to funding issues and Skaife leaving the team at the end of the championship to first partner (at 1997 Sandown 500, Sandown and 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000, Bathurst), then replace the retiring
Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
at the Holden Racing Team. A lifeline was thrown to the team by Garry Dumbrell, who contracted Gibson Motorsport to prepare his ex Gibson Motorsport Holden VS Commodore for the 1997 endurance races with Darren Hossack and Steven Ellery finishing 6th at 1997 Primus 1000 Classic, Bathurst. In 1998 Australian Touring Car season, 1998, the team expanded to three cars, two Wynns cars for Darren Hossack and Darren Pate and a third car for the Holden Young Lions entry for Steven Ellery which was sub-contracted by the Holden Racing Team. For 1999 Australian Touring Car season, 1999, the team built two new Holden VT Commodore, VT Commodores and recruited Steven Richards and Greg Murphy to drive the Wynns sponsored cars. A development program saw Murphy win a race at Symmons Plains Raceway, Symmons Plains before the pair won at 1999 FAI 1000, Bathurst


Garry Dumbrell

In December 1999 Fred Gibson sold the team to Garry Dumbrell. In 2000 Australian Touring Car season, 2000 the cars were sponsored by Kmart Australia, K-Mart with Richards winning in Canberra and the pair finishing 3rd at 2000 FAI 1000, Bathurst.


Bob Forbes

With the category's star driver, Craig Lowndes, having negotiated his way out of his management contract with Tom Walkinshaw, he was expected to leave the Holden Racing Team at the end of 2000. Ford Motor Company of Australia, Ford were very keen to gain his services and a deal was done that was portrayed as Fred Gibson buying back his old team and signing Lowndes to drive. It later emerged that it was Bob Forbes and not Fred Gibson who had bought the team from Garry Dumbrell, with Gibson only have purchased the Racing Entitlement Contract.. An ex Stone Brothers Racing Ford AU Falcon was purchased for Lowndes to race throughout the 2001 V8 Supercar season, 2001 championship before a Gibson Motorsport car debuted at 2001 V8 Supercar 1000, Bathurst. The team also ran a second car for Rodney Forbes. A falling-out between Forbes and Gibson saw the latter leave the team after Bathurst. As Forbes owned his own Racing Entitlement contract, Gibson sold his to Briggs Motor Sport. For 2002 V8 Supercar season, 2002, the team was rebranded as 00 Motorsport with Neil Crompton driving a second car. At the end of 2002, Ford withdrew their support with Lowndes and Crompton both leaving.


Demise

For 2003 V8 Supercar season, 2003, two new Ford BA Falcon, BA Falcons were built for Rodney Forbes and Greg Ritter to race. The team closed after round 6 of the series. The Racing Entitlement Contract was sold to Paul Weel Racing, Team Brock and the hardware in 2004 to WPS Racing. After leaving the team, Fred Gibson retained ownership of the team's Dandenong, Victoria, Dandenong workshop. It was later leased to Paul Weel Racing and today is Garry Rogers Motorsport's base.


Open Wheelers

Gibson Motorsport first competed in Open-wheel car, Open-wheel racing in the 1988 Australian Drivers' Championship (also known as the CAMS Gold Star), run for Australian Formula 2, Formula 2 cars. In Round 4 of the championship at the Adelaide International Raceway, Glenn Seton drove a Nissan powered Ralt, Ralt RT4 to an easy win in what was his only race of the series. Seton was to have had dual driving duties on the day, also debuting the HR31 Skyline in the ATCC race to which the Formula 2 cars were a support category. However, only one of the Skyline's was race ready and with Seton already driving the Ralt, George Fury was given the drive in the new Skyline. The team entered a Gary Anderson (motorsport), Spa FB001 for Mark Skaife to drive in the 1990 Australian Drivers' Championship for Formula Holden cars (under the name of Skaife Racing P/L). Skaife would finish 3rd in the championship, winning Round 4 at Mallala Motor Sport Park, Mallala in South Australia (the same day that Skaife gave the Nissan GT-R its ATCC debut) and Round 5 at Oran Park. Mark Skaife would go on to win the Gold Star for Gibson in 1991 Australian Drivers' Championship, 1991, 1992 Australian Drivers' Championship, 1992 and 1993 Australian Drivers' Championship, 1993. His win in both the CAMS Gold Star and the ATCC in 1992 saw Skaife become the first, and so far only driver to win both championships in the same year, and he would complete the treble by partnering Jim Richards to win the crash shortened Bathurst 1000.


Rebirth

In 2013, Fred Gibson reformed Gibson Motorsport as a race car preparer for cars participating in the Heritage Touring Cars series. Amongst its clients are the owners of former Gibson Motorsport Nissans. Some of the former race team personnel work on the cars, while former GMS drivers Jim Richards and Mark Skaife have both driven their former Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-Rs in historic competition, while George Fury has also reunited with his Bathurst pole winning Bluebird Turbo.Phillip Island: Gibson Motorsport Classic Report
Heritage Touring Cars 25 March 2014


Championships

This is a list of championships and series won by Gibson Motorsport from 1981 to 2003 in touring car racing and open wheel racing. Australian Manufacturers' Championship results have not been included as that title was awarded to the manufacturer (e.g. Nissan) rather than to an individual driver or team.


Bathurst 1000 Wins


Sandown 500 Wins


Other Touring Car Wins

Other non-ATCC/AMSCAR race wins by Gibson Motorsport (1981-2003) include: * 1983 Australian Endurance Championship, 1983 Silastic 300 at
Amaroo Park Amaroo Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit located in Annangrove, New South Wales, in the present-day north-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1967, the road circuit served as a venue for a variety of competitions including t ...
-
George Fury George Fury (born 31 January 1945, in Hungary) is a retired Australian rally and racing car driver. For the majority of his career Fury was associated with Nissan, twice winning the Australian Rally Championship, and twice runner up in the Austr ...
(Datsun Bluebird 910, Nissan Bluebird Turbo) * 1983 Oran Park 250 at Oran Park Raceway - George Fury (Nissan Bluebird Turbo) * 1983 Berri Fruit Juices Trophy at
Calder Park Raceway Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clo ...
(1983 Australian Grand Prix support race) - George Fury (Nissan Bluebird Turbo) * 1984 Australian Endurance Championship, 1984 Silastic 300 at Amaroo Park - Gary Scott (racing driver), Gary Scott (Nissan Bluebird Turbo) * 1984 Australian Grand Prix support race at Calder Park Raceway - George Fury (Nissan Bluebird Turbo) * 1986 Australian Endurance Championship, 1986 BP Plus 300 at Surfers Paradise International Raceway - George Fury and
Glenn Seton Glenn Seton (born 5 May 1965) is an Australian racing driver. He won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1993 and 1997 while driving for his own team. Although he never won the Bathurst 1000 like his father Barry did in 1965, Glenn star ...
(Nissan Skyline#RS, Nissan Skyline DR30 RS) * 1986 The Sun South Pacific 300 at Calder Park Raceway - George Fury and Glenn Seton (Nissan Skyline DR30 RS) * 1986 Pepsi 250 at Oran Park Raceway - George Fury (Nissan Skyline DR30 RS) * 1987 Yokohama/Bob Jane T-Marts 300 at Calder Park Raceway / Thunderdome - John Bowe and Terry Shiel (Nissan Skyline DR30 RS) * 1990 Ansett Air Freight Challenge at Adelaide Street Circuit (1990 Australian Grand Prix support race #1) - Jim Richards (Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R) * 1991 Hush Puppies Olympic Group A Challenge at Adelaide Street Circuit (1991 Australian Grand Prix support races #1 and #2) - Jim Richards (Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R) * 1991 Pukekohe 500, Nissan-Mobil 500 at Pukekohe Park Raceway (
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
) - Jim Richards and
Mark Skaife Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...
(Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R) * 1992 Clarks Shoes Group A Finale at Adelaide Street Circuit (1992 Australian Grand Prix support races #1 and #2) - Jim Richards (Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R)


Drivers

Those who drove for Gibson Motorsport in its many guises in touring car racing during its 22 years of competition from 1981-2003 include (in order of appearance): *
George Fury George Fury (born 31 January 1945, in Hungary) is a retired Australian rally and racing car driver. For the majority of his career Fury was associated with Nissan, twice winning the Australian Rally Championship, and twice runner up in the Austr ...
* Fred Gibson * Masahiro Hasemi * Kazuyoshi Hoshino * Fred Gibson (racing driver)#Personal life, Christine Gibson * Bob Muir (racing driver), Bob Muir * Gary Scott (racing driver), Gary Scott *
Glenn Seton Glenn Seton (born 5 May 1965) is an Australian racing driver. He won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1993 and 1997 while driving for his own team. Although he never won the Bathurst 1000 like his father Barry did in 1965, Glenn star ...
* Terry Shiel *
Mark Skaife Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...
* John Bowe * Grant Jarrett * Anders Olofsson * Jim Richards * Garry Waldon * Drew Price * Neil Crompton * David Brabham * Colin Bond * Steven Richards * John Cleland (racing driver), John Cleland * Darren Hossack * Steven Ellery * Darren Pate * David Parsons (racing driver), David Parsons * Simon Wills * Greg Murphy * David "Truckie" Parsons, David Parsons * Craig Lowndes * Rodney Forbes * Neal Bates * Greg Ritter


Super2 drivers

* Paul Dumbrell (2001) * David "Truckie" Parsons (2001)


References

{{reflist


External links


Gibson Motorsport website
Australian auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 1981 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2003 Sports teams in Victoria (Australia) Supercars Championship teams