The last time `Godzilla’ was sighted in rural NSW it monstered a bunch of mostly grunting Aussies.
This weekend, it’ll have a herd of prancing horses, ragings bulls, some silver arrows and even the Incredible Hulk to contend with.
The Nissan GT-R makes its long-awaited return to Mount Panorama on Sunday for the annual Bathurst 12-Hour endurance race.
Not since 1992 has a factory-entered GT-R raced at the mountain, when V8 Supercar greats Jim Richards and Mark Skaife guided theirs to a second successive Bathurst 1000 crown.
The victorious turbo-charged Skyline earned the nickname Godzilla and gave rise to Richards’ now-infamous podium speech in which he called the unruly crowd “a pack of arseholes”.
Nissan hopes its latest incarnation – the Nismo GT3 – will be just as devastating at the hands of current V8 driver Rick Kelly, Belgian Wolfgang Reip, Alex Buncombe of England and Japan’s Katsumasa Chiyo.
“Everyone that we’ve spoken to is very excited to see it here,” Kelly told AAP on Friday.
“You see everyone with cameras taking pictures of it in its current form, which is very different to 22 years ago.”
The Nismo Athlete Global Team’s entry is among 44 in this year’s race, touted as one of the most competitive in the event’s history.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz AMG and Audi are among the leading contenders for outright honours at the newly-resurfaced track, to be piloted by a quality list of drivers that includes five Bathurst 1000 champions, three V8 Supercar title-winners, a world touring car champ, a DTM legend and three with Formula One experience.
Hollywood actor and previous competitor Eric Bana is also in the mix, returning to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo with two friends.
“There’s a lot of very strong and very good cars up and down pitlane, so the field has got quite a bit of depth,” Kelly said.
“(But) I think we’ve got a good chance.
“It’s a little different to V8 Supercars where there’s different engines, different shapes and all sorts of things.
“Some cars have advantages in some areas and disadvanages in others, so we’ve just got to work out where we sit in that mix and really push hard on our strengths.”
Three qualifying sessions are scheduled for Saturday to set the grid for Sunday’s race.
