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The Dick Gilmartin Pages

(W I T H   T H A N K S   T O   S T E V E   K N O L L   &   D I C K   G I L M A R T I N)

Dick Gilmartin's Datsun Roadster campaign

Before Dick Gilmartin joined Bob Sharp Racing, he was best known for having formed the highly successful Group 44 Triumph team with Bob Tullius.  A competitive campaigner of the Group 44 Spitfire, Dick was often battling against Chris Jensen and Bob Sharp in their Datsun 1500s, as well as with Fitzy, who would later race for Bob himself, in his Morgan.

It was not long before Bob approached Dick to race the 1500 - Bob himself was receiving increased backing from Nissan Motor Corporation on the East Coast and he was concentrating his own efforts on the recently launched 1600, which was the main focus of Nissan's competition efforts at that time. Although Nissan had ceased production of the 1500, it was still highly competitive and Bob's development of the car, with the assistance of Nissan, was second to none. He needed a strong contender for the 1500 and Dick was a natural choice.

In 1967, after an impressive season, Dick took the 1500 to the Runoffs, held at Daytona that year. Here he placed 4th, behind Jerry Truitt and Dave Coman, racing Sprites, and Ed Barker racing a Spitfire. He was the only Datsun runner in the field. At the same meeting, Bob Sharp scored Nissan's first SCCA National Championship, at the wheel of the Datsun 1600.

After giving up racing, Dick became an official with the SCCA.

Other Bob Sharp related pages on www.fairlady.org
	BOB SHARP RACING - (FULL UPDATE 07/2002) Bob was the first factory backed racer on the East coast. Features Bob's 1500, 1600 and 2000 Roadster campaigns. Japanese text*
	JIM FITZGERALD - (UPDATED 11/2000) This tribute to one of Bob Sharp's best loved drivers includes images by Fitzy's photographer, together with the full story of Jim's 1970 DP Championship.
	A BOB SHARP PREPARED 2000 - (UPDATED 7/2000) The fascinating history of one of Bob Sharp's five 'salt damaged' cars. The car was campaigned to four Runoffs.

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These pages, unless otherwise stated, are copyright ©1999 & 2000, Rob Beddington & The Classic Fairlady Roadster Register. Do not redistribute in any form without the prior permission of the owner.