Press Release… Press Release… Press Release… Press Release…

Ross Buckingham takes Class Win at Bathurst!

Australian racing driver Ross Buckingham finished first in Class 3 and 5^th outright in the inaugural Bathurst 24 Hour race. Ross shared the Tradition / Central Steel BMW Z3 M-Coupe along with V J Angelo, the car's owner, Ric Shaw and Mathew Marsh. The Sterling Motorsport run car ran like clockwork during the race following an engine failure during the second qualifying session.

The engine broke on the second flying lap, which meant that the drivers only managed a few laps each prior to the race, Ric Shaw being the only driver in the team who had driven the track before. It also meant that the team had to work on the car all night to replace the broken engine. Ross, who hadn't even driven the car before arriving at Bathurst had his first driving stint of the race in the dark. "That was probably the most difficult bit of driving I have ever had to do" said Ross "I was the forth driver in the car, the other drivers had done a fantastic job getting the car from 16^th to 9^th. I was still learning the circuit and the car but I needed to get up to a decent pace as quickly as possible and making a mistake going over the mountain is not an option". The team did a fantastic job during the race ensuring everything went to plan and the car did not have a single problem during the 24 Hours. In fact it didn't even have a scratch on it!

Ross, who currently lives in the U.K., is keen to increase his involvement with the sport at international level but is also considering a move back to Australia. "I've demonstrated this weekend that I can jump in a strange car at the world's most un-forgiving circuit and still pull off a result like this" says Ross "I know that my driving and engineering skills would be an asset to any team and I have gained a huge amount of experience over the past 17 years in Europe. What I really need is some continuity and if there is an opportunity for that here in Australia then of course I am interested." For more information visit rossbuckinghammotorsport.co.uk .

The Bathurst 24-Hour Race was held on November 15 - 17 at the 6.2 kilometer Mount Panorama Circuit located about 200 kilometers North West of Sydney. It is set to become one of the world's classic races and some are even saying that it will become "The Race" on the Australian Motorsport Calendar. For further information about this event visit www.bathurst24hr.com .

Click here to return to the News page