Ross survives 200 KPH shunt to finish 24 hour classic.

Ross Buckingham survived a 200 kph accident to finish 7th in class in the Nurburgring 24 Hour race.  The Weybridge based Australian shared a BMW E36 Coupe with former Indycar driver Arnd Meier and Knut Leube.  The accident happened early on in Ross' first stint in the car when he ran on to marbles at  Schwedenkreuz whilst being passed by one of the faster cars.  Un-able to control the slide Ross went backwards into the crash barrier with an impact so strong that it broke the drivers seat from the floor it then spun around before hitting the barrier again.  Luckily he was able to get the car back to the pits after the accident and the team were able to repair the car although a lot of time was lost.  The car managed to continue after repairs to finish 7th in class. 

"That was the scariest accident I have ever had" said Ross  "I have always known that this is not a good part of the track to have an accident.  It is the fastest part of the track and there is no run off to speak of so I hit the barrier at close to full speed.  The team did a fantastic job to get the car out and I was able to do the remainder of my driving stints without any problems."  Ross kept his cool after the accident and got the car back to the pits as quickly as possible. "Once I realised that the car still had wheels on it I knew there was still a chance for us so I went to the pits as quickly as possible,  the team had to do repairs and unfortunately we lost a lot of time but it could have been a lot worse."

Ross had success in a BMW in the Bathurst 24 Hour Race last year, he has a long held fascination with the Nurburgring event and has become a regular competitor in this gruelling race.  He also plans to return to Bathurst for this years 24 Hour Race. Visit his web site at rossbuckinghammotorsport.co.uk .

The Nurburgring 24 Hour race is the world's biggest race with 210 cars taking the start on the 14 mile circuit and well over 100000 spectators turning up to watch. Drivers not only face what is considered the worlds most difficult to learn and dangerous circuits. More information can be found on www.24h-rennen.de .