1985-1986 Electramotive GTP

Having won everything possible with the Datsun 280ZX Turbo, Electramotive moved up to IMSA’s GTP class.  Once again Don chose Tony for his co-driver.  This was one of the most innovative GTP cars of its era.  Massive air intakes in the nose cooled the 1,000 horsepower Nissan V6 Turbo.  In addition to its wind tunnel tested bodywork, it had full bottom ground effects.

While Tony was driving for Conte and Jaguar in 1984, Nissan commissioned Lola to build a special purpose GTP chassis for Electramotive.  Don Devendorf hired Yoshi Suzuka to develop the aerodynamics of a high downforce body and ground effects system for the radical new car.  Yoshi built a moving-ground-plane wind tunnel at Electromotive’s El Segundo facility, and by the end of 1984 they were running the car shown below.

The Electramotive Nissan/Lola 810 became the progenitor of some of the most successful GTP cars ever designed.  A promotional video on the Electramotive Nissan/Lola 810 can be seen here.

Nissan USA photo                       

This was an awesome stealthy-looking car, but it certainly had numerous development problems.  I remember giving John Wyer, John Horseman & company a tour around the car at Riverside.  I drove at Ostereichring practice for the Gulf Wyre team testing the Mirage 3 liter and actual race at Watkins Glen in ’72.  John Wyer was totally in awe of this overly complicated GTP Lola /Electramotive car.  Upon finishing his tour of the car, John said, “You should take three months with your team for quiet (unobserved by press) testing of this car.

I explained we didn’t have the luxury of this item, sponsorship with Bridgestone and Nissan required the car to make all the current IMSA GTP events without the benefit of testing.  Wyer indicated the development would be very tedious and must proceed slowly.

He was right – we found major weakness in the aerodynamic balance of the car at various speeds.  To say nothing of the undeveloped Weisman transaxle and weak links in the Lola chassis that caused numerous crashes throughout the season.  Fortunately, I wasn’t behind the wheel when the real major crashes occurred.  Don was blamed for his lack of big bore experience.  With all due respect, he was a very capable driver and great co-driver during the Electramotive years.

This was the same car that was in black – the California Coffin.  Lack of additional funding plagued this car with the Weisman Transaxle, (never reliable).  The Nissan 3-liter V-6 was awesome, capable of 1000 HP but normally raced at about 700 HP.

Electramotive Engineering was soon to be engulfed with politics.  The team that had done so well for Nissan thru the IMSA GTU and GTO Championships, was reassigned as a new company: Nissan Performance Technology Inc.  With new corporate changes, additional sponsorship money was funneled into the development program.

Kas Kastner was appointed Motorsports Manager of Nissan Motor Corporation.  Just changing to the reliable Hewland gearbox and Goodyear tires allowed the existing chassis to be 2 to 3 seconds a lap better times.

At Miami, I was hit on the Pace Lap by another GTP car while entering the infield section from the back straight.  The impact slammed me into the concrete barrier doing irreparable damage to the car.  When the green flag dropped, I was in the pits for a look see.  The impact created a wedge across the rear wheels, making the car unbearable to drive.  It understeered badly on right hand turns and oversteered on left hand turns.  Unable to fix the damage, we ran the car the best we could, finishing tenth place.  I’m sure Elliott Forbes-Robinson may have some comments on this race.

Don’s electronics expertise with the engine management system he developed had made him too valuable to the team to be lost in a race accident.  In the reorganization, he was replaced by EFR.  Don was a great co-driver, and he was disappointed not to be able to drive.

The Miami race was a perfect time, with all the politics going on, to change out the remaining Electramotive driver.  I never recovered from being replaced by Geoff Brabham.  It was the end of my career.

Disclaimer