November 23, 1970 Fuji Speedway 200

B110 Brilliant Debut!
Although sales of the 2nd generation Sunny (B110) started in January of 1970, the racing debut was in the 1970．11．23 Fuji Speedway 200 miles race. "TS" class race is the 1300cc class.
It didn't seem much of a threat to the Mazda Capella rotaries and the mighty Toyota KE Corollas, but when preliminary round ends, a drastic reversal of fortune was hinted at. Suzuki Makoto marked the time of 1:42:28 and took pole position. The crowd at large still expected the factory Toyotas would have the advantage, as they had dominated the Sunny B10s (Datsun 1000s).
On race day, in the first corner is was Corollas, 1 2 and 3. However, on the last corner, the Sunny slipped in and it was all over. Victory for Sunny!

October 9, 1971 Fuji Master 250 kilometer race

Cherry X Debuts (E10 FWD family - pulsar was the N10 member of Cherry series)
For some reason the Cherry X A12 engine was tuned to a higher level than in the Sunny 1200. Rather than the Weber carbs in the engine, Lucas fuel injection (from the GTR PGC10) was fitted. This was reported to delivered more torque than the carbed engine.

 

 

Injected A12

• TSA Class (1300cc) A12s were at 1270cc.

In the rain, the Cherry X went to head of the pack, with Suzuki's Sunny in 3rd nearly 30 seconds behind. The race ended:
1. Hiro Hase Cherry 2:13:18
2. Ichiro Tsujimoto Sunny 1200 coupe 2:13:50
3. Suzuki Makoto Sunny 1200 coupe 2:13:63
4. Black Genji Cherry 2:13:77
Suzuki ended the season as the TSA class champion.

May 5, 1972 1972 Japanese Grand Prix

Race of Negligent Destruction!
Debut of Sunny Excellent
The Excellent is the PB110 (L14-engined Sunny)
TSA class race Starting line accident

 

Toyota vs. Nissan -- woohoo!
In the TSA (Touring car) Class (1300-1600cc)
The Excellent L14 OHC engine was increased from the original 1428cc to 1598cc. With ECGI the highest output was said to be at least 160 horsepower. Unfortunately, the suspension hadn't been sorted out yet, also with a weight of 795kg it had a disadvantage.
1. Cicely 1600GT
2. Kenichi Takeshita Cicely 1600GT
3. Takahashi Corolla
4. Cicely 1600GT
5. Kitano Sunny Excellent

 

 

March 18, 1973 Grand Champion first race Fuji Speedway 300km race

Minor touring champion race
The field was 80% Sunny! The days of Sunny vs. Corolla are gone, now it's Sunny vs. Sunny. The qualifying race was held in the rain, where the FWD Cherry once again showed its strength.
The Sunny grille mask debuted here

Unexpectedly, race day had fair weather. The Cherry and Akiyama's Sunny sprint off at the signal. By turn one there was a bunch-up of Sunny's, including Tomei and Mecca cars.
1. Kenji Takahashi Tomei Special Sunny
2. Pit Road Sunny coupe
3. Cherry coupe
4. Harada trading company Sunny
5. Perfect processing Sunny
Other cars included the Turbo Tsuchiya Sunny, and the Kashima Sunny coupe.

November 24, 1973 Grand Champion fifth race Fuji Speedway Victory 200

Sunny is Defeated by DOHC Toyota
minor touring class
The day that lives in infamy, as the Sunny sweep comes to an end at the hands of the Toyota Starlet DOHC 4-valve engine.

 

 

Starlet leading Yellow Sunny
Note the blue cam cover. Nippondenso fuel injection. Dry sump oiling.
Note the 30-degree high bank track
Based on the Toyota 3K engine of 1166cc, engine was increased to 1293cc. The result? 180ps (hp) @ 9500 rpm. Torque 14.0 kg at 7000rpm. Starlet is fitted with front and rear spoilers, tubular a-arm suspension and a differential oil cooler. Although having a heavy weight of 717kg (about 100kg heavier than Sunny), with its power-to-weight ratio of 3.9kg/PS vs. the Sunny's 4.0kg/PS, the Starlet's perfomance was better.
1. Hisashi Toyota Starlet
2. Toyota Starlet
3. Kenji Takahashi Technica Sunny
4. Hoshino Cherry coupe 1200XIR
5. Takatoshi Cherry coupe
6. Yutaka Masa Shibata Sunny 1200 coupe

May 10, 1979 Grand Champion Second race 1979 Fuji Speedway

Sunny technology has advanced
1. Osamu Sunny 31:49.29
2. Suzuki Megumi ADVAN starlet 31:49.44
3. Shibuya Tomei Sunny 31:50.65
4. Kenji Takahashi ADVAN Sunny 31:55.51
The injection-equipped Sunny did not show inferiority to the Starlet even on the straightaways, with only a 0.15 second finish difference .

March 29, 1980 Fuji 300

Of 21 entries, 12 were fuel-injected B110 Sunnys. Again, the 16-valve Starlets won the pole position. However, the over-head valve (OHV) Sunnys pull thier own. Some Sunnys were eliminted after experiencing injection pump, differential or electrical trouble. The winning Sunny exceeded 10,000 rpm.
Fuji Speedway Incorporated (FISCO) sponsor the race.

Oct 10, 1984 Minor touring race

B110's Last Race
After 12 years, the B110 Sunny races its last race.
Retrieved from "http://wiki.datsun1200.com/index.php/Racing_History"

Toyota Racing History

Toyota has been involved in world-wide Motorsports since it entered a Toyota Crown in the 1957 F1 Australian Rally.  However, it took a little longer for Toyota to bring their racing vehicles to America.  Even though 2007 marked Toyota’s 50th year of doing business in the United States, Toyota only started to become a force in American Motorsports in 1983.  In that time, it has employed a consistent strategy; start small, develop strong partnerships with owners and drivers, and then win championships.
In 1983, Toyota backed two professional programs in the United States for the first time.  They entered Celicas in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) road racing competition, and they began building trucks for off road and stadium competitions.
Cementing a plan for victory, Toyota joined forces with Dan Gurney in 1983 to compete in the IMSA.  Gurney was already a proven winner in the F1 circuit when he brought his All American Racers (AAR) teams to Toyota.  Between 1983 and 1988, Toyota achieved 24 GTO and GTU IMSA victories, and in 1987 won the GTO Manufacturer’s and Drivers Championship.
Cal Wells III also partnered with Toyota in 1983 to build Toyota racing trucks.  Wells used his company, Precision Preparation Inc. (PPI) and drivers like Gordon, the Millen brothers, and Ivan Stewart to become a force to reckon with.  During Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s first two years with PPI, he won six class victories, and then in 1993 he went on to win Toyota’s first Baja 1000 victory.  During the 1993 season, Toyota won all three of the “Crown Jewels” of desert racing: the Nevada 400, the Baja 500, and the Baja 1000.  Toyota is the only manufacturer to capture all three races in the same season.
Toyota added the CART competition (Champ Car) to their list of events in 1996.  Toyota presented the US 500 from 1997 to 1999, and then, in 2000, the race name changed to the Michigan 500 presented by Toyota.
In 2000, Toyota made a move into NASCAR with its V6-Celica. Eric Van Cleef, of Van Cleef Racing, drove the #82 Toyota Celica in the Goody’s Dash program. The Celica of 2000 used a revolutionary 24-valve four-cam V-6 engine.
Just three years later Gil de Ferran, in 2003, capped his illustrious career of 345 races when he won the Indianapolis 500 for Toyota.
2007 saw Toyota participating in the NASCAR Nextel Cup for the first time, despite some opposition from some fans.  NASCAR had traditionally been dominated by Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler.  Toyota theorized that NASCAR fans tend to buy from the brands featured in the sport.  Wanting to gain a foothold in Middle America’s car market, Toyota planned to capture the “Heartland” by giving NASCAR fans a Toyota Camry to root for.  Toyota started their 2007 season with three teams and six cars.
Moving towards the 2008 season, Toyota partnered with Joe Gibbs.  Gibbs won three Nextel Cup championships in the past, and Toyota banked on the fact that Gibbs could bring home championships for them.