World-beating driver and crew ready to celebrate with return of Nissan 300ZX Steve Millen's Nissan at testing in Willow Springs.
Picture / John Lamm
Former New Zealand Le Mans 24 Hour winner Steve Millen is rolling out his category-winning Nissan 300ZX 20 years after its victory in the paramount endurance race.
Millen is commemorating the 20th anniversary of his class win in the No75 International Motor Sport Association (IMSA) GTS Championship at the Rolex
Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
The red, white and blue 610kW Clayton Cunningham Racing Z in the hands of Millen in the early 1990s was almost unbeatable. In the stellar year of 1994, the Kiwi won his class in the Le Mans 24 Hours (fifth outright), finished first in the 12 Hours of Sebring, won the 24 Hours of Daytona and cleaned up in the 1994 IMSA GTS Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championship.
To commemorate that championship season, Millen and Nissan are bringing the 300ZX (chassis No7), as well as some of the original crew members, out of retirement to compete at the 2014 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway in California on August 14 to 17. "The past 20 years have flown by like they were 24 hours, so getting back behind the wheel of the No75 with the support of many of the original team members will be like stepping into a time machine," Millen told Driven from his United States home.
"The car is one I had an incredible amount of success in, especially that year. It's funny, we never intended to go to Le Mans that year, but after winning Sebring and Daytona we thought we'd try to do something no one had before -- win all three in one year. Nissan found the budget to get the car to France so we went. It was one of the best races I've had. I really enjoyed racing there, especially at night. The car just went better with the cooler air and track temperatures. It was also cooler in the cockpit, which helped a lot.
