Alex Buncombe | |
---|---|
Nationality | British |
Born | 28 August 1981 43) Taunton, England | (age
Related to | Chris Buncombe (brother) |
Racing licence | FIA Gold |
Alexander John Buncombe (born 28 August 1981 in Taunton, England) is a British racing driver. He is a part of the Nismo Global Driver Exchange. He is the brother of Chris Buncombe.
Alex is a big fan of the German Futball Club "Milser Rasenrebellen". Buncombe competed in the British Formula Renault Championship from 2001 to 2003, finishing fifth in the 2003 Winter Series. [1] He took part in his first GT race in 2005, competing in the Trofeo Maserati. He won his first race in the series, at Monza, by thirty-five seconds. [2] From 2007 to 2011, Buncombe competed in the GT4 European Series for RJN Motorsport. He finished third in 2007 before finishing as runner-up in 2008 and 2009. He continued to drive in the series until 2011. In total he scored five pole positions and ten wins. [1] [3]
Buncombe has competed in the Blancpain Endurance Series since 2011, winning the GT4 Cup class that season along with Jordan Tresson and Christopher Ward. The GT4 Cup class was removed from the series the following year and Buncombe moved into the GT3 Pro-Am Cup class. Buncombe has scored two wins and recorded a best season finish of fourth in 2013. [1]
Buncombe has taken part in various endurance races since 2008, including the Bathurst 12 Hour and the Dubai, Nürburgring, Silverstone and Spa 24 hour races. [1] [4] [5]
Buncombe competed in the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour as part of the Nismo Global Driver Exchange, driving a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 with Katsumasa Chiyo, Rick Kelly and Wolfgang Reip. Chiyo was involved in a crash in the early stages of the race, ending the team's chances after 58 laps. [6] Buncombe was scheduled to return to the race for 2015, but was forced to withdraw due to the impending birth of his first child. [7]
Following the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour, Buncombe joined Nissan's V8 Supercar team as a co-driver for Todd Kelly in the 2014 Endurance Cup. The pair finished twentieth at the Sandown 500 before recording a creditable seventh-place finish at the Bathurst 1000. [8] [9]
* Season still in progress.
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | RJN Motorsport | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 | Pro-Am | NOG QR 19 | NOG CR 7 | ZOL QR 18 | ZOL CR Ret | ZAN QR 13 | ZAN QR 8 | SVK QR 12 | SVK CR 8 | NAV QR 13 | NAV CR 11 | BAK QR | BAK CR | 7th | 70 |
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Nissan GT Academy Team RJN | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 | Pro | MIS QR 17 | MIS CR 14 | BRH QR 21 | BRH CR 18 | NÜR QR 16 | NÜR CR 14 | HUN QR 20 | HUN CR 18 | CAT QR 9 | CAT CR 11 | NC | 0 |
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | RJN Motorsport | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 | GT3 | OUL 1 5 | OUL 2 11 | NUR 1 3 | NUR 2 5 | ROC 1 5 | BRH 1 1 | SNE 1 Ret | SNE 2 3 | SIL 1 8 | DON 1 16 | 6th | 108.5 |
2014 | RJN Motorsport | Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 | GT3 | OUL 1 9 | OUL 2 13 | ROC 1 13 | SIL 1 7 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | BRH 1 | DON 1 | 33rd | 11 |
2024 | Team RJN | McLaren 720S GT3 Evo | GT3 | OUL 1 8 | OUL 2 6 | SIL 1 WD | DON 1 Ret | SPA 1 29 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | DON 1 | BRH 1 1† | 18th | 12 |
† As Buncombe was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Nissan Motorsports | Harry Tincknell Michael Krumm | Nissan GT-R LM Nismo | LMP1 | 242 | NC | NC |
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | Final pos | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | ADE R3 | SYM R4 | SYM R5 | SYM R6 | WIN R7 | WIN R8 | WIN R9 | PUK R10 | PUK R11 | PUK R12 | PUK R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | BAR R16 | HID R17 | HID R18 | HID R19 | TOW R20 | TOW R21 | TOW R22 | QLD R23 | QLD R24 | QLD R25 | SMP R26 | SMP R27 | SMP R28 | SAN R29 20 | BAT R30 7 | SUR R31 Ret | SUR R32 19 | PHI R33 | PHI R34 | PHI R35 | SYD R36 | SYD R37 | SYD R38 | 41st | 330 |
2015 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | ADE R3 | SYM R4 | SYM R5 | SYM R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | BAR R9 | WIN R10 | WIN R11 | WIN R12 | HID R13 | HID R14 | HID R15 | TOW R16 | TOW R17 | QLD R18 | QLD R19 | QLD R20 | SMP R21 | SMP R22 | SMP R23 | SAN R24 24 | BAT R25 20 | SUR R26 13 | SUR R27 17 | PUK R28 | PUK R29 | PUK R30 | PHI R31 | PHI R32 | PHI R33 | SYD R34 | SYD R35 | SYD R36 | 47th | 276 |
Year | Team | Car | Co-driver | Position | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | Todd Kelly | 7th | 161 |
2015 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | Todd Kelly | 20th | 156 |
Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Car No. | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | RJN Motorsport | Owen Mildenhall Anthony Reid Kurt Thiim | Nissan 350Z | 40 | GTC | 50 | 23rd | 8th |
2011 | RJN Motorsport | Jann Mardenborough Christopher Ward Bryan Heitkotter | Nissan 370Z | 31 | 2 | 50 | DNF | DNF |
Steven James Richards is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship.
The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for GT and production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, Australia. The race was first held in 1991 for Series Production cars and moved to Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway in 1995 before being discontinued. The race was revived in 2007, again for production cars, before adding a new class for GT3 and other GT cars in 2011. This has led to unprecedented domestic and international exposure for the event. In all, twenty one races have taken place; twenty at Mount Panorama and one at Eastern Creek Raceway.
John Donald McIntyre is a New Zealand racecar driver who competes in the V8SuperTourer championship and is a co-driver for Ford Performance Racing in the V8 Supercar Series at Sandown and Bathurst.
Christopher James Buncombe is a British racing driver who made his last appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours was in 2011. He joined Aston Martin Racing at the end of the 2009 season when he drove in the Le Mans Series scoring a podium finish on his debut with the team at Nürburgring driving the 008 Aston Martin LMP1 car. Chris won the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class driving for Binnie Motorsports in their Lola B05/40-Zytek.
The 2012 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for GT3 cars, GT4 cars, Group 3E Series Production Cars and Dubai 24 Hour cars. The event, which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 26 February 2012, was the tenth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour, and the sixth since the race was revived in 2007.
Jordan Tresson is a French racing driver, who previously raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Jann Mardenborough is a British professional racing driver. In 2011 he became the third and youngest winner of the GT Academy competition, beating 90,000 entrants to earn a professional racing contract with Nissan. He had no previous motorsport experience, having played sim racing video games instead. During his career, he has finished on the podium in his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, won races and contended for titles in GT3 and junior formula cars, and competed at the highest level in Super GT, Super Formula and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The 2014 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for a variety of GT and touring car classes, including: GT3 cars, GT4 cars and Group 3E Series Production Cars. The event, which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 9 February 2014, was the twelfth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
The Nismo Global Driver Exchange was an initiative from Nissan and Nismo to share driving experience from various motor racing categories around the world.
The 2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for a variety of GT and touring car classes, including: GT3 cars, GT4 cars and Group 3E Series Production Cars. The event, which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 8 February 2015, was the thirteenth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
GT Academy was a television programme produced by Grand Central Entertainment and funded by Nissan and Sony Interactive Entertainment from 2008 to 2016. GT Academy provided skilled Gran Turismo players an opportunity to earn a real-life professional racing career with Nissan.
Katsumasa Chiyo is a Japanese factory racing driver, currently competing in the Autobacs Super GT Series as a factory driver for Nissan. He is a graduate of the Nissan Driver Development Program (NDDP), and a past champion of the Bathurst 12 Hour race, and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
The 2016 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for a variety of GT and touring car classes, including: GT3 cars, GT4 cars and Group 3E Series Production Cars. The event, which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 7 February 2016, was the fourteenth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour. It was also the opening round of the 2016 Intercontinental GT Challenge Series.
Matthew Campbell is an Australian racing car driver, specialising in sports car racing. He is a Porsche factory driver, having formerly been a junior then young professional. Campbell won the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD Pro class and is now a full-time driver of the #5 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class. Campbell won the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia driving for McElrea Racing. Campbell moved to Germany in 2017 and was third in the 2017 Porsche Supercup. He has a victorie in the LMGTE Am Class at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. Campbell also won overall the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2019 and 2024, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Earl Bamber Motorsport and Manthey Racing respectively.
The 2017 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race was a motorsport event for GT3 cars, GT3 Cup cars, GT4 cars and invited vehicles. It was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 5 February 2017. The race, which was the 15th running of the Bathurst 12 Hour, was the opening round of the 2017 Intercontinental GT Challenge Series. For the first time, the winners of the race were awarded the Australian Tourist Trophy.
The 2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance motor race which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 2 February 2020. The race, which was promoted and organised by V8 Supercars Australia Pty Ltd., was open to GT3 cars, GT4 cars, Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars and Invitational vehicles. It was the 18th running of the Bathurst 12 Hour, and the opening round of both the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge and the 2020 Australian Endurance Championship. 39 cars were entered and 34 cars started, with five entries withdrawn following crashes in practice & qualifying.
Kazuki Hoshino is a semi-retired Japanese professional racing driver and current team principal of Team Impul in the Super GT Series and Super Formula Championship. He is the son of former racing driver and Impul co-founder, Kazuyoshi Hoshino.
Mitsunori Takaboshi is a Japanese racing driver. In 2017, he was crowned champion in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship.
The Nissan GT-R upheld its predecessor's exceptional pedigree in motorsports, competing across a range of racing disciplines and attaining success. Notable motorsport achievements came through from its participation in sports car racing, including championship triumphs in the approvingly competitive FIA GT1 World Championship, GT World Challenge and in the Super GT series. As well as in endurance races, consistently vying at the top in the Bathurst 12 Hour, Nürburgring 24 Hours, Spa 24 Hours among others. The car was used as official safety cars in numerous motorsport events, such as in the Super GT series, FIA GT1 World Championship, British Superbike Championship, and in the Supercars Championship as well.
RJN Motorsport is a British sports car racing team. The team was founded by Bob Neville in 1999 who is still the team principal and has successfully competed internationally in Touring Cars, GT Racing, Dakar Rally Raid and Extreme E. Named after their founder's initials RJN Motorsport are based in Didcot, Oxfordshire. The team was created after Nissan Motorsports Europe closed their Didcot facility and Bob who was Nissan's team principal decided to create his own motorsports outfit. RJN Motorsports have enjoyed a close and lengthy partnership with Nissan since their inception which lasted until the end of 2018 and have raced Nissans in Blancpain GT Series, FIA World Endurance Championship, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Dakar Rally and British GT Championship among other racing series.