<< Prev Page 3 of 3 Two of the new cars were run by Nissan Motorsport Europe, two by Nissan's American GTP arm NPTI and a one by NISMO. Interestingly none of the cars were identical as they supported various aero packages and parts, like wheels, from different suppliers. During qualifying Mark Blundell set an incredible pole time of 3:27.020 in one of the R90CKs. The car 'suffered' from a stuck wastegaste, which boosted the power to a startling 1100 bhp. The cars were quick during the race as well, setting the fastest lap of 3:40.030. Unfortunately the reliability still wasn't there and three of the five cars retired with mechanical problems. One of the surviving cars finished fifth and the other a distant 17th. The Courage entered R89C reached the finish in 22nd position while another Japanese entered R89C also retired.
After yet another disappointing 24 Hours of Le Mans Nissan completed the mandatory rounds of the World Championship. Despite scoring several podium finishes, the Japanese company decided not to return in 1991. The existing R89s and R90s continued to be campaigned in the All Japanese Sports Prototype Championship the following years but with surprisingly little success. They also appeared in the Daytona 24 Hours in slightly modified form. The cars were regularly upgraded and accordingly were renamed R91 and R92 but they were all old chassis. An exception could be the final R90 chassis that was built up from new as a R91CP and campaigned in FromA livery in Japan.
In Japan a new Group C car was developed to meet the revised 3.5 litre / 750 kg regulations but it appeared only once in a Japanese event. Nissan did return to Le Mans with a variety of cars in the next years but probably never came as close to winning as it had done in 1990. While Nissan kept most of their Group C cars in their highly impressive 'Zama' Nissan Heritage Car Collection, at least three were sold to private collectors. Despite their complexity, all three have been brought to full running order and are regularly seen in historic racing meetings on both sides of the Atlantic. << Prev Page 3 of 3
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Two of the new cars were run by Nissan Motorsport Europe, two by Nissan's American GTP arm NPTI and a one by NISMO. Interestingly none of the cars were identical as they supported various aero packages and parts, like wheels, from different suppliers. During qualifying Mark Blundell set an incredible pole time of 3:27.020 in one of the R90CKs. The car 'suffered' from a stuck wastegaste, which boosted the power to a startling 1100 bhp. The cars were quick during the race as well, setting the fastest lap of 3:40.030. Unfortunately the reliability still wasn't there and three of the five cars retired with mechanical problems. One of the surviving cars finished fifth and the other a distant 17th. The Courage entered R89C reached the finish in 22nd position while another Japanese entered R89C also retired.