- Max Chilton moves from F1 to P1 for full FIA World Endurance Championship season
- YouTube star Alex Buncombe completes the line-up for the third Nissan LM P1 car at Le Mans
LONDON, UK (2 March 2015) - Former F1 racer Max Chilton and Nissan regular Alex Buncombe have completed Nissan's squad of nine drivers for the Nissan GT‑R LM NISMO. This news was announced ahead of the Geneva Motor Show where Nissan's LM P1 car will appear for the first time in Europe.
Max Chilton joins Nissan after two seasons in Formula One, where he became the rookie with the 'safest pair of hands' demonstrated when he finished every single one of the races in his debut season in 2013. Fast and mistake-free is the order of the day in LM P1 racing so the British racer will be an asset to Nissan's pioneering new team.
"I'm honored to have been asked to join a manufacturer as prestigious as Nissan in a championship that is growing year on year," said Chilton. "Le Mans has always had an amazing following and to be racing there as a works driver is a dream come true. My aim has always been to race at the highest level and the technology that has gone into the Nissan GT‑R LM NISMO is as impressive as a Formula 1 car. Having met with the team and seen first-hand the dedication and desire to win that exists within this project I can't wait to get on track."
Fans of motorsport videos on YouTube will need no introduction to the racing skills of Alex Buncombe. He has become a star via his onboard camera videos, such as the one from Monza that showed him overtaking 18 cars on the opening lap of a GT race last year, which over half a million people have watched. He is less known for his work as the mentor to all of Nissan's GT Academy winners since the program began in 2008. Now he can't wait to get his GoPro in the Nissan GT‑R LM NISMO.
"This is a genuine dream come true for me," said Buncombe. "I was shocked when I got the call and I haven't been able to wipe the grin off my face ever since. It's very rewarding being the mentor of the GT Academy winners, especially when I see how much the likes of Lucas (Ordonez) and Jann (Mardenborough) have gone on to achieve. Now I'm going to race at Le Mans with them in the Nissan GT‑R LM NISMO. I already know a fair amount about the car and I can't wait to have a go. It's a radical design and, as with all new cars it will take some developing and fine-tuning, but it's incredibly exciting and I'm so happy to be on the team."
"It's good to have Alex and Max on the team," said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO. "They have come to us from different routes. Alex has driven every current Nissan racing car we have and - when you consider that I started working with him when he was racing a 350Z in GT4 – that's some journey. Max is best known for his F1 exploits, although he has competed in LM P1 before, back in 2007 when he was only 16. The addition of these two drivers shows that Nissan has cast its net wide in looking for the best driver line up for LM P1. We now have drivers who raced last year in F1, LM P2, GP3, GT3, V8s, GT500 and of course on PlayStation 3 on Gran Turismo 6!"
Chilton joins Marc Gene, Michael Krumm, Jann Mardenborough, Olivier Pla and Harry Tincknell for the season-opening race at Silverstone on 12 April. The configuration of the driver line-ups for the #22 and #23 Nissans will be announced at a later date.
Buncombe will join the team for the Le Mans 24 Hours where he will race in the #21 Nissan GT‑R LM NISMO with Tsugio Matsuda and Lucas Ordonez.
LM P1 testing continues this week at Sebring International Raceway in Florida, USA with Max Chilton, Marc Gene, Jann Mardenborough, Olivier Pla and Harry Tincknell on driving duty.
MAX CHILTON
Date of birth:21 April 1991
Place of birth: Reigate, Surrey
Nationality: British
Languages:English
Twitter:@maxchilton
Max Chilton's racing career began in go-karts when he was just 10 years old and, as soon as he turned 16 and was old enough to get his hands on an F3 car, he graduated to single-seaters. He actually celebrated his 16th birthday on race day during his first F3 weekend.
The Surrey-born racer took the traditional route to the top of single-seaters, showing great skill and confidence as he worked his way through the ranks. Strong performances in Formula 3 and then in the GP2 Series were rewarded when he was signed to the Marussia F1 Team as a full-time Formula One driver.
Now an established F1 driver, with two full seasons under his belt, Max moves over to the FIA World Endurance Championship where he will compete in the Nissan GT‑R LM NISMO.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2013 - 2014
- Formula One with Marussia F1 Team where Max became the first F1 driver in history to finish every race during his rookie season. He helped in the development of the 2013 and 2014 cars, managing to get through to Q2 a number of times which had only been done once before by the team.
2012
- GP2 Series with the Marussia-backed Carlin GP2 Team. Took fourth place in the championship with two feature race wins and two pole positions. His first GP2 race win came in Hungary.
- F1 Young Driver Test with Marussia, which led to the role of Official Reserve Driver.
2011
- GP2 Series with Carlin. Finished 20th in the championship during development season.
- F1 Young Driver Test with Force India
2010
- GP2 with Ocean Racing Technology.
2009
- Formula 3 with Carlin. Took first F3 win and finished the season 4th in the championship with three pole positions and two race wins.
2008
- Formula 3 with Hitech Racing. Took first F3 podium finish at Oulton Park and first F3 pole position at Monza. Finished 10th in the championship with two pole positions and two podiums.
2007
- First season in Formula 3 with Arena International.
- Competed in the Silverstone 1000kms, finishing fifth overall – and leading independent entry - in a Zytek LM P1 car.
2005-2006
- At the age of 14 Max started to race in T-Cars, setting a new record for the youngest ever person to take an ARDS test. In his rookie year he took multiple poles and wins, then in 2006 whilst continuing with European Karting he took seven wins and the most amount of poles, finishing second in the Championship.
2000 2004: Karting
- British & European Championships in Cadets, junior TKM, JICA and ICA with a multiple wins in Britain and Vice Champion in the JICA Champions Cup.
ALEX BUNCOMBE
Date of birth:28 August 1981
Place of birth: Taunton, Somerset, UK
Nationality: British
Languages:English
Twitter:@al_buncombe
Once described as 'Nissan's secret weapon', Alex Buncombe has played a vital role in the success of Nissan's GT Academy program since its launch in 2008. 'Al' has been the professional teammate to each of the graduates, providing them with invaluable guidance thanks to his extensive racing experience and calming influence. Most recently he has mentored Sir Chris Hoy in the British GT Championship.
After Alex drove alongside Lucas Ordonez in the 2009 Dubai 24 Hours, the pair went on to race a full season in the European GT4 Cup in a Nissan 350Z, finishing a close second in the championship but securing the team's title with a win and three second places. He went one better in 2011 when he and Jordan Tresson took the Nissan 370Z to the GT4 title in the 2011 Blancpain Endurance Series.
In 2012, Alex teamed up with 2011 GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough to drive the Nissan GT‑R NISMO GT3 race car in the fiercely-contested Blancpain Endurance Series and British GT Championship. When British GT travelled to the renowned Nürburgring GP track, Alex and Jann claimed a podium finish. They then went on to win the Brands Hatch round just two-hundredths of a second ahead of the No.007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The pair recorded a further podium at Snetterton, as they came very close to winning the British GT Championship in what was meant to be a development year for the new car.
During the last two seasons Al has continued to race the Nissan GT‑R NISMO GT3, taking another Blancpain Championship win in 2013 and narrowly missing out on a GT300 Super GT win when he made his Japanese debut in the Fuji Sprint Cup.
He took another Blancpain win at Silverstone in 2014 but it was his performances at Monza and the Nurburgring that drew the most attention. After a technical issue in qualifying at Monza he had to start from the back but managed to get from 32nd to 15th position on the opening lap! He then proved this wasn't a one-off by going from 13th to first place during his opening stint at the Nurburgring 1000kms later that year.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2014
- Full season in Blancpain Endurance Series in the Nissan GT‑R NISMO GT3. Took the pro-am win at Silverstone with Florian Strauss and Nick McMillen.
- Regular teammate to Sir Chris Hoy in the British GT Championship
- Nurburgring 24 Hours with Florian Strauss and Nick Heidfeld. Finished 11th in class after a bump in the night for Heidfeld.
- Competed in the Bathurst 12 Hours, alongside Wolfgang Reip, Rick Kelly and Katsumasa Chiyo.
2013
- Racing the Nissan GT‑R NISMO GT3 in the Blancpain Endurance and FIA GT Series. A winner in the Pro-Am class at the Blancpain race at Silverstone, Alex helped with his fellow NISMO Athletes win the Pro-Am team's championship.
- Competed in the Dubai 24 Hours alongside Sabine Schmitz, Peter Pyzera and Steve Doherty, taking ninth in class in a Nissan 370Z NISMO GT4.
- Raced a Super GT GT300 Nissan in the Fuji Sprint Cup, narrowly missing out on victory.
2012
- British GT Championship – pole position and podium finish at Nürburgring. Win at Brands Hatch, podium finish at Snetterton
- Blancpain Endurance Championship part-season
- Petit Le Mans, Atlanta – fifth in LMP2 class in Nissan-powered Greaves Motorsport car, alongside Alex Brundle and Tom Kimber-Smith
2011
- Blancpain Endurance Series GT4 Champion, including class win at Spa 24 Hours
- Nurburgring 24 Hours in RJN Nissan 370Z GT4 car finishing 6th in Class
2010
- Raced in the GT4 European Cup with RJN Motorsport
- Competed in Spa 24 Hours, Silverstone 24 Hours and Nurburgring 24 Hours
2009
- Competed in the Dubai 24 Hours, alongside Johnny Herbert, Rob Barff and Lucas Ordonez. Finished 9th in class.
- Raced in the GT4 European Cup with RJN Motorsport. Finished 2nd in Driver's Championship and first in Team's Championship.
- Also competed in Nurburgring 24 Hours and selected VLN races
2008
- Competed in Nurburgring 24 Hours and Dubai 24 Hours with RJN Motorsport Nissan 350Z
- Raced in GT4 European Championship – 2nd in Driver's Championship
2007
- Raced in four FIA GT4 races, taking two wins and two second places
- Silverstone 24 Hours
- FIA GT3 race at Silverstone in a Porsche 997 GT3 – 7th overall – Highest placed Porsche – Winner of Porsche GT3 Cup
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