Mark Skaife's Nissan R32 GT-R Bathurst pole lap

Mark Skaife turns 49 today - happy birthday Skaifey!

To celebrate we've dug up one his finest moments, a scorching effort in the Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R to take pole for the 1991 Bathurst 1000.

Aged just 24, Skaife lit up the timesheets with a 2min12.63sec lap, more than 1.2sec clear of Mark Gibbs in another R32 GT-R and more than 2.2sec clear of Glenn Seton in the Peter Jackson Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500.

Even at this young age Skaife had earned plenty of success, including winning the Ford Laser one-make series in 1986, the Australian 2.0-litre Touring Car Championship in 1987 and the Class 1 Australian Off Road Championship in 1988.

In the early 1990s his career exploded, winning back-to-back Bathurst 1000 and Australian Driver's Championships in 1991 and 1992 and his first Australian Touring Car title in 1992.

He would go on to win a further four Bathurst 1000s and V8 Supercar titles making him one of Australia's most successful drivers.