I picked up a old issue of J's Tipo from 1995, because it had some JT1 Gemini Sedan content. It looked like some rally and circuit event mentions and a section with some racing parts. Not a whole lot on either topic, maybe the seller carefully chose the item pictures to target me personally.

The issue is some sort of special edition focusing on all things "Sedan". "Pure Sports Sedan" articles take up the first half, with articles on circuit and rally. A very short mention of Bellett in the prehistoric age of racing, which immediately went to Coupe format and out of the Sedan article topic.

I spotted an article with a picture of a JT1 AWD Turbo on a road course, and decided to transcribe it into the computer to try to figure out what it says. Lots of squinting and staring at tiny little letters and trying to match the shape with tree, picnic table, wheat, fish hook, box, or whatever other descriptive name might keep me from forgetting it while rifling through a 1100 page book that tells the sounds for the symbols. I'm starting to understand why someone lost a war 70 years ago, and to realize I need a magnifying glass.

I'm two days and two paragraphs into this, and it like the little article starts off with a brief history of Isuzu in motorsports. A quick mention of the 1970's Gemini Coupe as a standout among competition (but it's a Coupe and the article is about Sedans). Then a flat statement of fact that the Gemini ZZ-R Sedan won the 1980 and 1981 All Japan Rally Championship. There's even a little chart below showing the same, along with the winners for 1982 through 1994. And no indication of class, so it reads as overall winner.

Finding any information about pre-1990 Japanese rally racing is about like finding blueprints for Stone Henge. Of course, ten or fifteen years from now they will probably separate motorsports history into two groups: PEDS and AEDS - Pre Energy Drink Sponsorship and After Energy Drink Sponsorship.

That's pretty awesome.

I guess its not too surprising - the old t-series GM world car always displayed good balance on the dirt!

The Vauxhall Chevette hsr was a pretty successful rally car based off that same architecture.