Alex Buncombe (born 28 August 1981 in
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, England) is a British racing driver, recently left RJN Motorsport after the
Blancpain Endurance Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...
. He is a part of the
Nismo Global Driver Exchange
The Nismo Global Driver Exchange (also known as the Nismo Global Athlete Program) was an initiative from Nissan and Nismo to share driving experience from various motor racing categories around the world.
The program was launched in February 2013 ...
, working with
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
and RJN Motorsport to provide graduates of the
GT Academy program with guidance and helping them to develop their motor racing skills. He is the brother of
Chris Buncombe
Christopher James Buncombe (born 5 May 1978 in Taunton, Somerset, England) 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 ...
.
Career
Buncombe competed in the
British Formula Renault Championship
British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport, Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which ...
from 2001 to 2003, finishing fifth in the 2003 Winter Series.
He took part in his first
GT race in 2005, competing in the
Trofeo Maserati
The Trofeo Maserati is a single-marque motorsport championship that was started by Maserati Corse in 2003, with the introduction of the Maserati Coupé. Its title is commonly confused as ''Maserati Trofeo'', which in fact refers to the name devi ...
. He won his first race in the series, at
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
, by thirty-five seconds. From 2007 to 2011, Buncombe competed in the
GT4 European Series
The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Cham ...
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.
Buncombe has competed in the Blancpain Endurance Series since 2011, winning the GT4 Cup class that season along with
Jordan Tresson
Jordan Tresson (born 30 April 1988 in Villers-la-Montagne) is a French racing driver, who previously raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Career
In April 2010 Tresson won the Gran Turismo Academy, a competition run by Nissan and Son ...
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.
Buncombe has taken part in various endurance races since 2008, including the
Bathurst 12 Hour
The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Liqui Moly 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 ...
and the
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
Nürburgring
The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
,
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
and
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
24 hour races.
Australia
Buncombe competed in the
2014 Bathurst 12 Hour as part of the
Nismo Global Driver Exchange
The Nismo Global Driver Exchange (also known as the Nismo Global Athlete Program) was an initiative from Nissan and Nismo to share driving experience from various motor racing categories around the world.
The program was launched in February 2013 ...
, driving a
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3
The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alt ...
with
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 th ...
,
Rick Kelly
Rick Kelly (born 17 January 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver who previously competed in the Supercars Championship. He last drove the No. 15 Ford Mustang GT for Kelly Racing. Previously, he drove for the HSV Dealer Team with wh ...
and Wolfgang Reip. Chiyo was involved in a crash in the early stages of the race, ending the team's chances after 58 laps. Buncombe was scheduled to return to the race for
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, but was forced to withdraw due to the impending birth of his first child.
Following the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour, Buncombe joined
Nissan's V8 Supercar team as a co-driver for
Todd Kelly
Todd Kelly (born 9 October 1979) is a retired Australian professional racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He is the older brother of fellow Supercars driver and former Bathurst 1000 winner, Rick Kelly. H ...
in the
2014 Endurance Cup. The pair finished twentieth at the
Sandown 500
The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars comp ...
before recording a creditable seventh-place finish at the
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
.
Racing record
Career summary
FIA GT competition results
Complete FIA GT Series results
Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results
Complete British GT Championship results
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Supercar results
Bathurst 1000 results
Britcar 24 Hour results
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buncombe, Alex
1981 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Taunton
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
English racing drivers
British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
FIA GT Championship drivers
Supercars Championship drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
Blancpain Endurance Series drivers
Britcar 24-hour drivers
Nismo drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
Greaves Motorsport drivers
Kelly Racing drivers
KCMG drivers
Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers