It will be a measured approach to the BNT V8s season for Nick Ross and his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima when the championship gets underway at Pukekohe November 2-4.
Nick Ross.
It will be the Cambridge driver and his Concept Motorsport team’s 16th consecutive season in the BNT V8s championship and having finished third last season, 43-year-old Ross believes that while every driver aims to finish at the top, it will be a season of limiting errors that will be key to taking the 2018/19 BNT V8 crown.
“The important thing throughout the season is to make sure you finish the races and get the points. Even if you finish last, there are still points up for grabs,” says Ross.
“We had an enjoyable season last year, but as we saw, the difference between the top three drivers was one DNF, which was us when we had a rear wing failure at Teretonga.
“We had a good reliable car last season and finished near the top of the field regularly, the problem was so did everybody else – it makes for a tight championship battle.
“Where every point is valuable, if you can’t win, get a podium.”
The 2013/14 champion expects to face tough competition this season, with a number of drivers capable of winning races and the overall championship.
“There are a couple of fast guys this season who I expect to be contenders. Jack Smith from Australia proved to be very fast towards the end of last season, and he’s been driving a lot back at home this year, so he’ll ‘race ready’ and I expect him to challenge for the championship.
“There are also a couple of other new drivers such as Brenton Grove, who though are new to the championship, do have experience in V8 cars like these, so he should get up to speed quite quickly.”
“Also don’t count out some of the local guys like Lance Hughes who can be pretty quick at circuits like Hampton Downs.”
Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport is supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Jim Wright Nissan, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, Waikato Aggregates and Tyre Traders.
The BNT V8s Championship has six rounds starting at Pukekohe, November 2-4 and finishing at Hampton Downs in March.