Jim Richards (race driver)
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| Jim Richards | |
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 Jim Richards with his Co-driver Barry Oliver in a Porsche 911 GT3 in Targa Tasmania |
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| V8 Supercar Record | |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
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| 2006 Championship position | |
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Jim Richards (born September 2, 1947) is a New Zealand racing driver who has spent most of his racing life in Australia.
Jim Richards was Australian Touring Car Champion in 1985 and 1987, driving elegant black JPS-sponsored BMWs, a 635CSi and an M3 respectively; in 1990 and 1991 driving the 4WD Winfield-sponsored Nissan Skyline GT-R, affectionately known as "Godzilla", and has won the Bathurst 1000 seven times. He has also won Targa Tasmania seven times in a succession of Porsches and has won several Carrera Cup and production car championships and currently races in the Porsche Carrera Cup series in Australia.
His Bathurst wins have been:
- 1978 - Peter Brock / Jim Richards (Holden Torana A9X)
- 1979 - Peter Brock / Jim Richards (Holden Torana A9X)
- 1980 - Peter Brock / Jim Richards (Holden Commodore VC)
- 1991 - Mark Skaife / Jim Richards (Nissan Skyline GT-R)
- 1992 - Mark Skaife / Jim Richards (Nissan Skyline GT-R)
- 1998 - Rickard Rydell / Jim Richards (Volvo S40)
- 2002 - Mark Skaife / Jim Richards (Holden Commodore VX)
[edit] Trivia
Jim Richards is the father of Australian driver Steven Richards, but is unrelated to another New Zealand racing Richards, Jason Richards.
Richards was inducted in the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2006.[1]
Richards is infamous for his speech after winning the 1992 Bathurst 1000 after crashing while in the lead and causing a red flag. The race results were declared at the end of the last completed lap, before his crash. The crowd booed when Richards and his co-driver Mark Skaife went to collect their trophies. When prompted for a reaction, Richards' spoke in the microphone: "You're a pack of arseholes."[2]
While for most of his career he has been based in Australia, he races on a New Zealand competition licence with a New Zealand flag next to his name.
[edit] References
- ^ "Lowndes wins major V8 award", Fox Sports Australia, December 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
- ^ Bidwell, Peter (2006). V8 Kiwis. Auckland: Hodder Moa, 18. ISBN 1-86971-060-6.
