'Godzilla' Returns To Lakeside

LAKESIDE PARK, AUSTRALIA – July 28, 2010: Two of the most exciting touring cars ever to race in Australia will be back on track at Queensland’s legendary Lakeside Park over the weekend of 7-8 August in the hands of their original drivers.

Touring car veterans Jim Richards and Mark Gibbs will step back in time when they drive demonstration laps in their original Nissan R32 Skylines at the 2010 Lakeside Classic Speed Fest, which is being sponsored by Shannons.

Held over two days, the Speed Fest is a multi category event featuring racing, sprints, regularity, a mini hill climb and the Shannons Show and Shine. Up to 30 Group A and Group C touring cars from the 1970s to early 1990s are expected to grid up.

Decked out in their period livery with Winfield and GIO signage, the two Nissan GT-Rs will bring back memories of a time when they turned the Australian Touring Car Championship on its ear with their fire-breathing turbo-charged sixes and all wheel drive handling.

Many Queensland motor-racing fans will remember round four of the Australian Touring Car Championship at Lakeside in April 1991, when Richards planted the Skyline on poll and went on to blitz the field. Richards and teammate Mark Skaife crossed the line for a one-two finish, with Richards lapping the entire field up to fifth position!

The two mighty ‘Godzillas’ will also be driven by their current owners, Terry Ashwood and Rod Markland in the Group A & C touring car race category at the Lakeside Classic Speed Fest, giving fans a chance to see the famous machines in all their glory once again.

Other touring car classes to take you back in time include Group N and the ever-popular Australian Trans Am Championship. Group N will see titanic tussles between Aussie legends such as Falcon GTs, XU1 Toranas, Ford Escorts and Holden Monaros, while the Trans Am series unleashes the fattest group of American muscle this side of Detroit.

The Lakeside Classic Speed Fest also features trade stalls, the Shannons Super Rig and the Queensland Motorsport Museum. Circuit entry costs just $20 per day with free entry for children under 13.