ALEX Buncombe is a man who knows the thrill of topping time sheets at Mount Panorama and the frustration of having a DNF at the same track to his name, so when the 32-year-old returns to Bathurst this October there is little doubt which of the two he will want to experience again.
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It was announced last week that the British driver will pair with Jack Daniels Racing’s Todd Kelly for this year’s Bathurst 1000 and while he will be a Great Race rookie, he already knows the challenge that Mount Panorama presents.
He got a taste of the famous 6.213 kilometre circuit in February as part of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Teaming up with Rick Kelly, Katsumasa Cyio and Wolfgang Reip in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, Buncombe was hopeful of making his first race at Mount Panorama a success.
He gave Australian motor sport fans unfamiliar with his name an indication of his talent during the third practice session when he held position at the top of the time sheet for around an hour thanks to his flying two minutes, 6.5958 seconds lap.
The car went on to place fourth in qualifying, but come race day the news was not as good for the Nissan team. They were forced to retire after less than 21⁄2 hours of racing – Buncombe’s Bathurst debut ending with a DNF next to his name.
Still, that experience was enough to lure him back.
The NISMO Global Driver Exchange program offered him the chance to share Todd Kelly’s Nissan Altima for the V8 Supercars endurance season, of which the Bathurst 1000 is the highlight.
“What an amazing feeling to get the call to say I’m required to drive again in Australia,” Buncombe said.
“It’ll be great to go back to Mount Panorama. It’s an extremely scary circuit, but what an amazing place. To go there with the GT3 car was awesome. It was a shame the race ended the way it did, but going back there in the V8 Supercar is going to be an amazing experience.
“I can’t imagine what it will be like to drive that car on that track, so I just hope I can do a good job for everyone.”
Late last month Buncombe drove a GT-R GT3 to victory in the Pro/Am class of the Blancplain Endurance Series race at Silverstone.
However, on Australian soil the GT3 driver will have to adjust to the nuances of the V8 Altima.
Racing in the Sandown 500 before he arrives at Mount Panorama will help, and Buncombe is confident he can adjust after getting a small feel for the Altima in testing at Sydney in February.
“I really want to do a solid job for the team. I haven’t had many laps in the car, so the first job for me will be to get on the pace. It’s totally different to what I have been used to in Europe with the GT3 GT-R but that won’t be a problem I’m sure,” he said.
“I’ll be asking Todd for every tip he has got to help me, as he has so much experience in the car. I drove his car at the test and he really helped me to get the most out of it, so I will be picking his brains again when I get to Australia for sure.”
Kelly, who is a former Great Race winner and will be contesting the 1000 for the 17th time this year, is delighted to have Buncombe as his co-driver.
“He drove the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 at the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this year, so he has experience at Mount Panorama and that is a huge bonus when getting an international driver in one of our cars at Bathurst,” he said.
“He was very fast in the GT-R, so I’m confident he’ll adapt quickly to the Altima there. Alex also did a few miles in my car at Eastern Creek at the pre-season test in pretty average conditions – it was a little bit of a wet track and dry track and he did a really good job.
“He’s almost the perfect fit for my car too – he’s almost identical in size to me, he didn’t want to tamper with any of my stuff in the car. That is very handy.”