Alex Buncombe: Nissan's Secret Weapon

ROLLE, Switzerland – Since its formation in 2008, Nissan's GT Academy has grown into one of the best driver selection and development programs in the world. The stakes are raised each year making the competition harder and making sure that only the best talent rises to the top.

Something that has remained constant since 2008 is the involvement of RJN Motorsport and Alex Buncombe, who has been each of the graduate's first professional team mate.  It was 'Al' who partnered Lucas Ordonez in 2009 and 2010 and Jordan Tresson in 2011 and it is Al who has raced the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 so strongly in its development season with Jann Mardenborough in this year's British GT Championship.

Next week Al will be continuing his official Nissan Europe driver role when he races the Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan LMP2 at one of the best sportscar races in America: Petit Le Mans.

Nissan's Darren Cox has seen Al work quietly alongside the GT Academy graduates and believes it is the turn of the man from Somerset to step into the spotlight.

"GT Academy is a success story," he commented. "The doubters have long been proved wrong as we have continued to turn out truly talented racing drivers through the GT Academy selection process and the following driver development program.  All of our graduates have made the grade and become fully-fledged racing drivers. We're not running a nursery though.  Failure to perform at any stage will be treated in the same way as in any top competition and the drivers all know this.

"Alex Buncombe's role in the GT Academy family is to set the benchmark for each of the graduates when they embark on their racing careers," Cox continued. "His job is to calmly help them realize what steps they need to genuinely become a professional driver after the bubble of Race Camp, the initial phase of the Driver Development and the Dubai 24 hours. Being alongside Al and being looked after by Bob Neville and the team from RJN Motorsport is the perfect environment for these fresh new talents. There are no egos, just racers. Al is often overlooked when the plaudits are given out. I am happy to give him this drive and am confident he will do a solid job. His lack of seat time will mean he will be playing a supporting role – something he is used to doing of course – but sometimes it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for!  His peerless performances and multiple wins in historics this year are a little hidden, but show what a versatile a professional driver he has become."

Q&A with Alex Buncombe

What did you think when you got the call up to race at Petit Le Mans?
"One word: amazing! I had to pinch myself. I am so pleased to get this fantastic opportunity.  This will be my first time at Road Atlanta and the first time I have raced an LMP car for eight years so I can't wait.  I know Tom (Kimber-Smith) as we both raced in the 'Champions' Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in Dubai earlier this year and I'm sure I'll get to know everyone else very quickly."

What are your expectations for the race?
"I really want to do a good job for Nissan and for Greaves. I need to learn the car and the circuit but you never know what is going to happen in endurance races. A podium finish in LMP2 would be awesome."

This year you have taken wins at the Monaco Historic, Le Mans Classic and Goodwood Revival in a Jaguar C-Type, you are the 2012 E-Type Challenge Champion and you won the British GT race at Brands Hatch in the Nissan GT-R.  What are the chances of adding a win at a modern day classic track like Road Atlanta?
"The Greaves Zytek Nissan is a very competitive car and we have a great driver line up. If we have a clean race with no problems who knows where we might end up."

Your relationship with Nissan goes back a number of years. When did you first get involved?
"My first race for RJN and Bob Neville was the 2007 GT4 race at Spa where I had two fantastic second place finishes. We then had many race wins from there on and the rest they say is history."

What is your racing background, prior to joining RJN Motorsport?
"My racing career before 2007 with RJN was very mixed. I did Formula Renault in 2001, 2002 and 2003, some of which were not complete seasons because of budget problems. I really saw myself as a GT driver though and in 2005 I competed in the first round of the Vodaphone Maserati Trofeo cup at Monza where I won the one hour race by 35 seconds."

As the first team mate to the first GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez, what did you really think of it all back then?
"I must confess I was a little worried about Lucas in 2009 with it being the first year of GT Academy. Could he really step from the virtual world to the real racing world? After the first race though my feelings changed. These guys are fast! I can't wait to see Lucas race Nissan DeltaWing at Road Atlanta. He did this race last year and has good experience of the circuit and the car and I think he will do a great job."

# # #

Contact

Lindsay Morle
Motorsports Nissan Europe
lindsay@morle.com
+44 7971 481078