BNT V8s a Team Effort Says Ross

Looking ahead to a very promising new season in the newly renamed BNT V8s, Cambridge's Nick Ross knows success will all come down to team effort on the part of himself, the never faltering crew and their ever faithful sponsors.

"Without them we just wouldn't be here." he said after the opening round of the season held at Taupo Motorsport Park at the start of the October.

Improving on their new racing chassis which was campaigned last season, this year Ross and the Concept Motosport team will be adding to that a brand new engine before heading to the second of seven BNT V8 Championship rounds.

Ross hopes the new package will give the Total Lubricants Commodore and himself the edge the team are looking for as they strive to move further up the field.

Built in-house and developed by the team, Ross believes their latest unit will provide extra power to the race car which already showed signs of good pace in the first round at Taupo.

The new motor, although not available for Taupo, will be in place for Pukekohe on the 7-9th of November.

"We hoped to have the new engine in for Taupo but couldn't quite manage it but we will have it in for round two. We believe we have found some more torque but we will never really know how good it will be until we get it in the car and on to the track - that will be the telling moment." he says.

Being a high speed circuit the extra power expected from the engine will be much welcomed by the Holden driver for Pukekohe Park Raceway which has favoured the Fords over recent seasons.

"We will get the car to Taupo for a test session before Pukekohe and see how she goes." he says.

The first round of the season which was held at Taupo Motorsport Park on the 3-5th October brought both hope and despair for the Cambridge driver but with the knowledge he has a potentially very good car underneath him.

In Saturday morning's qualification Nick Ross made it past the first cut and into the top 20 session where he set a lap quick enough for 18th place before putting the driveshaft through the floor of the car.

In the first race of the season Ross managed a good start passing four cars before the first corner but immediately after that found Paul Pederson facing the wrong way on the track after being spun by another driver.

Not being able to avoid a collision Ross was forced to retire the car with a very badly damaged left rear quarter.

The next day's racing was to bring another collision brought about by mishaps further up the field.

"In Sunday's first race I started from the back and made my way up to around 20th. A car got out of shape in front of us and the car in front of me pulled in front and put out the anchors. I went into the back of him, damaged the radiator and that was the end of my race." he said.

But with the woes of the first two races put behind him and a reverse grid start for the final race of the weekend Ross was ready to make up for the earlier disappointments with a start from pole position in race three.

His race went very well but he was inevitably picked off by some of the very quick cars as they made their way up from the rear finally holding on to ninth place at the end.

"I was having a really good run in the last race for around five laps before getting eaten up by the Fords. The only Holden that got me was Andy Booth's but those Fords were just too quick on the day." he said.

All in all the weekend showed much promise for the upcoming season with a satisfying qualification and a top nine placing in race three to finish off the weekend.

Looking at the stiff competition coming from some old runners and a flood of very competitive new blood entering the country's toughest racing series, Ross knows there is some money being spent by some teams intent on achieving top results in this season's BNT V8s.

Ross, a seasoned campaigner in the V8 tourers since 2003, takes it all in his stride and has seen many drivers come and go through the years.

He along with the Concept Motorsport crew continue to develop the chassis, engine and of course the pilot as they work their way towards consistent placings at the front of the pack.

"If you are going to do something you want to do it to win, we are the same but we have to be realistic. Firstly we need to get ourselves into the top ten, which I believe is achievable, and when we are there it becomes easier to get into the top five and when you are there it becomes easier to get those race wins. To be at the front there is a process you have to take and you take it all step by step and stay optimistic." he says.

As well as the continual development of the Total Lubricants Commodore, Nick Ross looks to himself and has once again enlisted the help of a professional trainer and nutritionist to get him to the utmost level of fitness for the racing season.

Nick Ross wishes to thank Total Lubricants, ENZED's Waikato and Franklin franchises, his ever supportive team and all of his loyal sponsors for making this year's campaign possible.

Our thanks go out to all our sponsors:

*TOTAL Oil**ENZED*
Waikato and Franklin franchises*Porter Hire**Strautmann Hopkins*
*Arai Helmets*
*Classic Cover Insurance**C & R Developments**Auto Trail Ltd*

*SBS Brakes**Leamington Auto Electrical**Stingray Marine**3M* *G & M Auto's*