Cambridge racer Nick Ross experienced the highs and lows of motorsport at Teretonga last weekend with one of the biggest off track incidents of his career.
Nick Ross on track at Teretonga. Photo Euan Cameron.
In Saturday’s opening BNT V8s race, Ross was holding down third place in the leading pack and with only a handful of laps to go, the rear wing of his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima came off as Ross was travelling at 256km/hr down the long Teretonga front straight.
With the car now having no rear down force, which is critical to the cars handling, as Ross applied the brakes, it sent the Cambridge driver off the track, making contact with the tyre barrier.
“The wing let go, which at the time I wasn’t aware of, so when I went to brake I had no down force. It pitched the car into a spin and from there I was just a passenger,” said Ross.
“We were very lucky with that one, the damage wasn’t that bad and we were able to get it fixed on Saturday night and get back on track for the final two races on Sunday.”
With his newly repaired car looking virtually brand new except for a few pieces of race tape, Ross hit the track and claimed a third placing in Sunday mornings race, followed by winning the final race of the weekend in a dominant lights to flag victory.
“Really great to bounce back from Saturday’s drama and record a win. I managed to get off the line really cleanly and then just built a gap to the others behind.”
“We’ve had the pace all weekend, the cars are so close, and if you can get to the front and get a gap you can generally keep it.”
With a short break now in the championship until the next round at Manfeild in February, Ross says he and his Concept Motorsport Team will head home to Cambridge and give the car a ‘birthday’ before the last two rounds of the championship get underway.
“It’s nice to head home after being on the top step of the podium. We’ll check over the car and get ready for Manfeild in a couple of weeks.”
Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport is supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, NZ Safety Gear and Tyre Traders.