NISSAN TRIBUTE AMERICAN RACING HISTORY FOR SANDOWN 500

Nissan Motorsport’s Kelly brothers will feature almost identical liveries for the Sandown 500 Retro Round.

The two Nissan Altima’s will pay tribute to the Brock Racing Enterprises Datsuns, operated by famed American automotive designer Pete Brock, that dominated American Road Racing in the early 1970s.

Pete Brock, no relation to Australia’s Peter Brock, made a name for himself designing classic cars such as the Corvette Sting Ray and Shelby Daytona Cobra before turning his attention to the Datsun brand, claiming success in SCCA and Trans Am 2.5. That success established the marque’s reputation as a performance brand outside of its homeland of Japan.

Celebrating this heritage, Nissan Motorsport have recreated the iconic BRE championship winning livery on Rick Kelly’s No. 15 Sengled Racing Altima that he’ll share with David Wall.

“The colours of the car are really iconic and really capture the spirit of the retro round.” said Rick Kelly.

“There’s been a lot to celebrate in terms of Nissan’s racing history in Australia, but this year we decided to look abroad and to their domination of American road racing in the early 70s.”

“We’re all familiar with Australia’s Peter Brock, but America’s Pete Brock ran fast Nissans in the 60s and 70s to great success. So it’s fun to share this history with everyone.”

Todd Kelly’s No. 7 Carsales Racing Altima, that he’ll share with Jack Le Brocq, will also feature the BRE-inspired livery with the addition of a unique Carsales design to celebrate the sponsors 20th anniversary.

“This livery is quite special. Not only does the car celebrate Nissan’s racing past, but also this year marks Carsales’ 20thanniversary. So to be able to celebrate both of these achievements at the Retro Round is really great.” said Todd Kelly.

Nissan Motorsport will take to Winton Raceway on Wednesday for their final test before the Pirtek Enduro Cup begins at the Sandown 500.

We’ve got more of the latest news out of the Supercars paddock in the next issue of Auto Action magazine, on sale Thursday. In the mean time follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates between issues.