British star to debut with Kelly
British GT driver Alex Buncombe will pair up with Todd Kelly for this year's Pirtek Enduro Cup, finalising Nissan Motorsport's co-driver line-up.
The three events -the Wilson Security Sandown 500, Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 600, in September and October -will mark Buncombe's V8 Supercars Championship debut, though the 32-year old successfully tested with the team as part of the NISMO Global Driver Exchange program.
"What an amazing feeling to get the call to say I'm required to drive again in Australia," Buncombe said.
"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."
The drive will be Buncombe's second competitive race in Australia this year, having competed in the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 in the Bathurst 12 Hour in February, where he showed impressive pace around the daunting Mount Panorama circuit.
"It'll be great to go back to Mount Panorama," Buncombe said.
"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.
"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 described the announcement as fantastic news, and felt Buncombe's experience at Mount Panorama would be an advantage for them.
"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 was very fast in the GT-R, so I'm confident he'll adapt quickly to the Altima there," Kelly said.
"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...
"Looking at a lot of the racing he's done, he certainly knows how to get any car around and pass cleanly. He's highly credentialed, a good guy and I can't wait to get him in the car and see what he can do."
The announcement is great news for the team on many levels.
"I'm extremely pleased we've been able to grab (Alex) as an endurance driver. Not only because of his abilities and skills, but it just reinforces our relationship with Nissan Australia, Nissan globally and the NISMO Driver Exchange Program," Kelly said.
Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO echoed Kelly's sentiments.
"This is what the NISMO Global Driver Exchange is all about," Cox said.
"Alex is a vital part of our GT Academy program, the success of which means all of our winners have busy racing schedules now. He has been our not-so-secret weapon for a few years now and you only have to see what he did in a GT3 GT-R at Monza recently to know what he is capable of...
"Todd Kelly is the ideal guy to have as Alex's teammate. He has a lot of experience in these cars and at those tracks, particularly Bathurst, so I'm expecting the #7 Altima to impress."
The team is planning for Buncombe to take part in at least one test day in the lead-up to the Pirtek Enduro Cup to get comfortable in the Jack Daniel's Nissan.
