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| Nissan
350Z race cars |
Broadcast
dates : 22nd May 2005
28th May 2005 |
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The
re-emergence of Nissan has really woken up track racing at
circuits around the country – with the impact of an
alarm clock with sub-woofers!
Making its debut in late February at Kyalami at the start
of the 2005 Vodacom Power Tour, the pair of 350Z Sahara
Production racers are already on the pace with the BMW
330s and Alfas GTAs.
Over the past couple of years, Nissan Motorsport in South
Africa has dominated off-road racing here with these
Hardbody-based pick-ups.
Under the leadership of Glyn Hall, the Midrand workshop
has also produced racers for the Paris-Dakar event, with
local ace Giniel de Villiers finishing in the
top-five three years in a row.
The Z-car legend goes back to the 1970s and has many
racetrack successes to its name.
It’s a sleek, pure two-seater with low-slung-looks to
match its very serious engine and handling package.
The Sahara Production Car rules allow limited
modifications to the cars, which have to be
series-production models on sale in South Africa,
These mods include lower and stiffened suspension, a
quick-release steering wheel, a gutted interior, digital
race-tech instrumentation, and a full roll cage, which not
only provides driver protection but also adds plenty of
chassis stiffness.
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Team drivers for this year are
mainstay Nissan man Duncan Vos and sports-car ace Gary Formato.
Gary scored the team’s first victory in Cape Town a few weeks
ago.
Engine rules in Production Car racing are really strict, with
virtually no modifications allowed. Minor-blueprinting and
component finishing is allowed but Nissan has done little engine
fettling, concentrating instead on handling.
The geometry on each wheel is set differently to arrive at an
optimum setting for different racetracks. Camber angles are
generally negative on the front, so that during hard cornering,
the tyre rides flat on the road and doesn’t tuck in or fold
under the wheel rim.
With a brand-new car, it’s case of a dip into the deep end at
each new track on the calendar.
The Nissan 350Z has 204 kiloWatts, which is some twenty to
thirty more than its competition. To compensate, the organizers
impose a weight penalty.
Nissan Motorsport is one of the top three teams in the country,
and highly professional in its approach.
The cars have their own transporter and a mobile workshop
accompanies them to each race meeting.
The 350Zs have dedicated teams of technicians, and although
there’s a lot of glamour associated with the sport, it’s
probably one of the most demanding occupations in terms of
man-hours and pressures.
The Nissan come-back has really drawn the crowds back to the
race circuits. In the top production-car class there are now
teams fielded by BMW and Alfa Romeo, and shortly Audi will be
making its appearance with its S3.
Nissan relishes the prospect of
close racing over the next few seasons.
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