I could cetainly see the distaste for the GTR's from drivers and crowd in the 1991 & 1992 Bathurst races, after Sierra then GTR multiple victorys and the drivers and crowds obvious attitude toward the imports I'm not suprised really that attendance was down and CAMS changed it all around.
We haven't had a Ford victory at Bathurst since 1998 but the crowds aren't down and CAMS don't feel they need to change things.
I just wish V8 Supercars would open up some room for different makes and models (different engines and drivetrains) to enter the race, would make it much more interesting for me at least.
V8 Supercars isn't exclusivley for Holden and Ford. In the last six years or so Toyota and Mitsubishi have shown interest. The rules say the V8 Supercar must be based on an Australian built four door sedan but I'm sure if Audi or Mercedes/Chrysler, for instance, showed an interest in V8 Supercars that rule would disappear pretty quickly. When you start introducing different drivetrains and engines is when you get uneven competition. These days there must be tighter regulations to keep all the competitors reasonably competitive or the sponsors and fans will lose interest.
BTW just curious, a question that sounds like you would know the answer. Why did the 1992 R32 GTR's have a weight restriction that even led to court cases? (being lighter than the 1991 GTR's)
The 1992 cars were heavier than the 1991 cars. The legal action didn't eventuate as Gibson Motorsport backed down. Here is a bit of information I found a long time ago. I can't remember where I found it and can't be effed trying to find it now. It is an interesting read if you find the whole lot as it goes through the results of the R32 GTR in Australia.
October 89
The Skylines weight is 1260kg, heavier than the Ford RS500 Sierra at 1185kg. Fred Gibson expects to get 600hp, more than the HR31 GTS-R's RB20DET-R which pushed out 460hp in 1989, and 370hp in 1988.
April 90
At testing at Winton, the engine used was a unit sent over from Japan. It used a Japanese management system which restricted boost to 1.3 bar and power was about 550hp. The Gibson Motorsport team intended to replace the Japanese management system with their own system and run higher boost, around 1.5 bar for 580hp.
January 1991
A bit of background is needed here as the 1993 rule change was essentially influenced by these events and conditions.
CAMS was in trouble. It was running out of money, and needed restructuring. To compound the issue, there was a general downturn in the economy. CAMS responded by charging large registration fees of AU$6,000 per car for the ATCC, and tracks were charged AU$10,000 to host a round. In addition, because the Group A format was administered by FISA in Europe, the regulations were hard to work with. This had caused delays in getting the new VN Group A Commodore homologated for competition
The rules were revised for the 1991 season aiming to keep the fields even. The Sierras had 85kg removed from their minimum weight, bringing them down to 1,100kg. They also got a six speed gearbox. The Commodores also lost some weight, 75kg down to 1250kg and a host of freedoms including the entire inlet system, the valves and ports were free, and the inner wheel guards could be modified to fit wider tyres. The BMW M3 was allowed to run similar freedoms as the Commodores, at a featherweight 960kg. The GT-R had it's minimum weight increased to 1360kg. (the reporting of weights is not consistent, the homologation weight of the GT-R was 1260kg, yet the press report an increase of 35kg from 1325kg. Go figure).
April 1991
Minimum weights are further revised with an across the board increase of 2.5% in all cars. This was done so the private teams didn't have to resort to expensive exotic materials to reach the same weights as the factory teams.
The season looked like being a difficult one, the entries were well down with a core group of 12 cars contesting all rounds and very small fields. Even at this stage there was talk of making a full grid at Bathurst by allowing the standard Group E production cars to join the Group A race.
June 91
Early June saw a series of options from the CAMS motor racing commission to nobble the GT-R for 1992. Among the recommendations were ideas such as forcing the cars to run in rear wheel drive only, to put restrictors in front of the turbos like the WRC cars or to reduce the tyre width. Not surprisingly, Gibson Motorsport and Nissan threatened legal action. CAMS then asked Gibson to produce a counter proposal to bring the GT-R's performance back to the rest of the field.
According to reports at the time, Gibson had been testing the various options. At Wanneroo the air restrictors were in place for the qualifying, but not the race. They also tested the car in rear wheel drive mode with the front drive shafts removed. Lap times at Winton were 2 seconds slower with the 2WD.
The entry list for Bathurst is released. There is a full field of 57 entries without resorting to padding out the entry list with the Group E production cars. There is a media and test day at Bathurst. Some of the leading teams appear including the Gibson team. Jim Richards cleans up the test day with the fastest lap (2:14.95s) and reaching 299kph on Conrod Straight. Win Percy almost matches with 297kph in his Commodore.
September 91
The Sandown 500 saw some of the major teams missing. The Gibson GT-Rs and the Dick Johnson team didn't enter.
October 91
In the background during the Bathurst race week, there were moves being made about the rules for 1993. Because of the economic situation and the ever increasing costs of running a Group A car, CAMS had moved to develop a new formula for Australia's leading category. The aim of the category was to provide close racing with a substantially lower cost than the current Group A scheme.
It was eventually decided that the new formula would revolve around the Holden Commodore and the Ford Falcon. At the time Australia lacked the technology to develop 2 litre engines like those used in the British Touring Car Championship and it was decided that turbos were too costly for many teams to run. Both the Sierra RS500 and Skyline GT-R were costing around AU$500,000 for a competitive car. That kind of cost was well beyond most of the privateer teams. The V8 was the cheapest option to develop and race in Australia.
Holden and Ford took the unprecedented step of releasing a joint letter to CAMS during Bathurst telling them to get their act together and set the rules for 1993 or Holden and Ford would consider other forms of racing (NASCAR / AUSCAR).
January 92
The Nissan GT-R had a new minimum weight of 1400 kg, a boost restriction to 1.3 bar which was calculated to cut the power to 336kw down from 477kw, along with a limit on compression to 9.5:1. The Commodores and Sierras were given an extra 50kg and an electronic rev limit of 7,500 rpm. This was designed to cut costs as the top tier Commodore teams were using 8,500 rpm in an effort to keep up with the Sierras which resulted in many broken engines. In contrast, the BMW M3s copped an extra 60kg. A CAMS performance review panel was formed to make running changes to the regulations during the series.
May 1992
Round five of the ATCC was at Lakeside in Queensland. The CAMS Performance review panel had been working hard since the previous round. They loaded the Sierras with an additional 50kg and punished the Skylines with 100kg of additional weight to carry around. Mark Skaife claimed that the GT-R was now the heaviest touring car in the world, and that in endurance race trim (full load of fuel, water brakes etc.) the GT-R would weigh in at 1,700kg. Fred Gibson threatened to withdraw the cars from Bathurst, claiming the extra weight was making wheels crack. The GIO team went as far as to withdraw their GT-R and bring last years Commodore out from the chicken shed, as they were cracking wheels with their heavy GT-R and had to wait for some new stronger wheels to be made.
June 92
Fred Gibson then set about work to try and level the playing field for the Bathurst event. He made a submission to CAMS to have the weight and boost penalties removed, arguing that the cars would be highly stressed with the additional weight they were forced to carry. CAMS turned down his submission forcing Fred had to play tougher. He threatened legal action against CAMS under the trade Practices Act unless they reviewed the weight penalties and also suggested the team not turn up to Bathurst (which was unlikely as it is the biggest event of the year). Bob Forbes, the owner of the GIO team stood by Gibson in solidarity. He would also pull the team's GT-R from Bathurst if Gibson pulled his team out. CAMS called their bluff and no legal action occurred. The GT-Rs would race at Bathurst with their 1,500kg minimum weight and the 1.3 bar pop-off valve limiting boost.
August 92
August had a media 'test day' at Bathurst, with many of the leading teams bringing their cars along. Fred Gibson was asked what specification his GT-Rs were running, he replied: “No comment.” Skaife cryptically admitted “We are not down at the Oran Park weight, but we're not down at last year's weight.” It was observed they were not running with the 1.3 bar pop-off installed.
