Alex Buncombe

Alex Buncombe
Nationality British
Born 28 August 1981 (age 33)
Taunton, England

Alex Buncombe (born 28 August 1981 in Taunton, England) is a British racing driver, currently driving for RJN Motorsport in the Blancpain Endurance Series. He is a part of the Nismo Global Driver Exchange, working with Nissan 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.

Career

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]

The Nissan GT-R of Buncombe, Chiyo, Kelly and Reip at the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour.

Australia

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]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles FLaps Podiums Points Position
2001 Formula Renault UK Aztec International 8 0 0 0 0 54 23rd
2002 Formula Renault UK Saxon International 4 0 0 0 0 13 29th
2003 Formula Renault UK (Winter Series) Falcon Motorsport 4 0 0 0 2 44 5th
2007 GT4 European Cup RJN Motorsport 4 2 1 3 4 36 3rd
2008 GT4 European Cup RJN Motorsport 12 5 3 6 9 88 2nd
2009 GT4 European Cup RJN Motorsport 12 2 1 2 6 57 2nd
2010 GT4 European Cup RJN Motorsport 8 0 0 2 1 21 7th
2011 Blancpain Endurance Series (GT4 Cup) RJN Motorsport 5 2 1 0 4 116 1st
2012 British GT Championship (GT3) RJN Motorsport 10 1 0 0 3 108.5 6th
2012 Blancpain Endurance Series (GT3 Pro-Am Cup) RJN Motorsport 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2013 Blancpain Endurance Series (GT3 Pro-Am Cup) RJN Motorsport 5 1 0 0 2 53 4th
2013 FIA GT Series (Pro-Am) RJN Motorsport 10 0 0 2 4 70 7th
2014 British GT Championship (GT3) RJN Motorsport 4 0 0 0 0 11 33rd
2014 Blancpain Endurance Series (GT3 Pro-Am Cup) RJN Motorsport 5 1 0 0 1 38 8th
2014 International V8 Supercars Championship Nissan Motorsport 4 0 0 0 0 330 41st

FIA GT competition results

Complete FIA GT Series results

Year Class Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Points
2013 Pro-Am RJN Motorsport Nissan 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

Complete British GT Championship results

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

Complete V8 Supercar results

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

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Alex Buncombe". Driver Database. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  2. "Alex Buncombe: Nissan's Secret Weapon". NissanNews.com. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  3. "RJN Motorsport". Avon GT4 Trophy. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  4. Meaden, Richard (8 October 2010). "Britcar 24 Hours race review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  5. "Nissan Shuffles the Pack for Spa 24 Hours". DailySportsCar.com. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  6. "Lowndes holds on in Bathurst thriller". Speedcafe. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  7. "Florian Strauss to replace Alex Buncombe for Nissan at 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour". Nissan Global. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  8. "Whincup/Dumbrell take commanding Sandown win". Speedcafe. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  9. "Mostert/Morris win eight-hour Bathurst thriller". Speedcafe. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.