After three rounds of the BNT NZ Touring Cars Championship season done TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima driver Nick Ross looks forward to the Christmas break before heading to the South Island in January.
“We are pretty happy with the way the car is going and the team are starting to get on top of the new tyres which although are still a Dunlop tyre are quite different from the ones we were using last season.” said Ross.
An engine failure at Pukekohe in November put the team on the back foot but are back into the competition after a strong round at Hampton Downs against the extremely competitive and large field of class one cars.
“We are getting faster and faster all the time and there is some really good racing going on at the moment and is getting very enjoyable.” said Ross.
The hard work and dedication from the team paid off dividends in round three held at Hampton Downs over the weekend of 28-29 November where Ross finished races one, two and three in fifth, sixth and then fifth again respectively in a weekend where he put his renowned wet weather skills to good use.
In the opening race held under wet conditions the majority of drivers were given a 10 second penalty for weaving behind the safety car after the warning lights had been turned off.
The penalties affected 11 drivers including Ross who was relegated from fifth to seventh place.
“This was the first time I had actually driven the car under real wet conditions. Unfortunately a lot of us got a penalty for weaving after the lights went off but the fact is that we couldn’t see more than a couple of cars ahead of us in the wet.” he said.
After the Christmas break Nick Ross and the Concept Motorsport team will tackle the South Island rounds at Ruapuna and Teretonga from eighth place on the NZ Touring Cars Class One Championship table.
Ross’ performance in the BNT NZ Touring Cars follows a very successful record in the NZV8 Touring Cars where he won the championship in the 2013-14 season and placed second in the 2014-15 season.
“We’re really looking forward to heading down to Ruapuna in the new year and I would like to wish all our sponsors, supporters and of course our team a very merry Christmas and happy New Year and look forward to seeing them back at the track in 2016.” said Ross.
The fourth round of the NZ Touring Cars will be held at the Mike Pero Motorsport Park in Ruapuna, Christchurch over the weekend of January 16-17 followed by round five at Teretonga Park January 23-24.
Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport are sponsored by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, Ryco 24/7, C&R Developments, Connex, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82oc, Classic Cover Insurance and Tyre Traders.
