FIFTY years ago at Mount Panorama, Japanese drivers Moto Kitano and Kunimitsu Takahashi took out their class of the Bathurst 500 behind the wheel of a Datsun 1300.
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Plenty has changed in Australian motor sport since then, but Nissan will pay tribute to its past – specifically that Bathurst triumph – at Sandown this weekend.
To mark its 50th year of business the #23 Nissan Altima of Michael Caruso and Dean Fiore will carry livery which mirrors that of the 1966 Datsun in the first leg of the Enduro Cup.
“When Nissan was incorporated in Australia back in 1966, one of the first things we did was to go motor racing,” Nissan Australian CEO Richard Emery said.
“It is fitting that now, as we celebrate half a century of our Australian operations, that we salute the success of the Datsun 1300 that won its class in the 1966 Bathurst 500.
“Over 700 staff and their families will be track side to cheer on our Nissan Motorsport team at Sandown, which is located within kilometres of our Australian headquarters, and it’s great that our celebration links in with the retro theme of this year’s Sandown 500.”
The Datsun which Kitano and Takahashi drove to Class A honours and 26th outright was not the only 1300 in action at Mount Panorama in 1966.
To showcase the model, three factory-prepared Datsun 1300s tackled the 500 mile endurance race.
John Roxburgh and Doug Whiteford claimed second in Class A in one of those, while John Colwell and Fred Sutherland steered the other to fourth in class.
