Chris Buncombe

Chris Buncombe
Buncombe in 2018
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
BornChristopher James Buncombe
(1978-05-05) 5 May 1978 (age 48)
Taunton, Somerset, England
Categorisation FIA Gold (until 2012)
FIA Silver (2013–2017)
FIA Bronze (2018–)
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2007, 2011
TeamsBinnie Motorsports
Jota
Best finish18th (2007)
Class wins1 (2007)

Christopher James Buncombe (born 5 May 1978 in Taunton, Somerset, England) is a British former racing driver who made his last appearance in the 2020 British GT Championship. He joined Aston Martin Racing at the end of the 2009 season when he drove in the Le Mans Series scoring a podium finish on his debut with the team at Nürburgring driving the 008 Aston Martin LMP1 car. Buncombe won the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class driving for Binnie Motorsports in their Lola B05/40-Zytek.

Career

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1995 Formula Vauxhall Junior Young Driver Scholarship ? ? ? ? ? ? 1st
1996 British Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
2000 Spa 24 Hours RJN Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2001 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship Aztec International 13 0 0 0 0 123 10th
2002 European Touring Car Championship RJN Motorsport 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2004 FIA GT Championship - GT JMB Racing 4 0 0 0 0 1 49th
2005 FIA GT Championship - GT2 JMB Racing 1 0 0 0 1 6 22nd
2006 Spa 24 Hours Team RST 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2007 Le Mans Series - LMP2 Binnie Motorsports 5 0 0 0 1 17 6th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
2008–09 Speedcar Series Team Lavaggi / Team West-Tec 4 0 0 0 0 2 14th
2009 Le Mans Series - LMP1 Aston Martin Racing 2 0 0 0 1 6 14th
2011 Le Mans Series - LMGTE Jota Sport AMR 1 0 0 0 0 2 9th
24 Hours of Le Mans - GTE Pro Jota Sport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2013 Spa 24 Hours Nissan GT Academy Team RJN 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Pro-Am Cup Strakka Racing 7 2 1 2 4 92 1st
2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Pro-Am Cup Tempesta Racing 4 1 0 0 2 61 5th
2020 British GT Championship RJN Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC

Family History

Chris grew up from a motorsport family. His grandfather, John Buncombe, competed during the 1950s & 1960s. His father, Jonathan Buncombe raced for over 20 years for multiple manufacturers including Ford, GM and early racing career in Minis.

Chris' brother, Alex is a Factory Nissan Nismo driver and the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series Champion, he has represented Nissan in multiple race series including GT3, GT4, Australian V8 Supercars, Nürburgring 24 Hours, Petit Le Mans and the Le Mans 24 Hours in LMP1.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.		 Ref
2007 United States Binnie Motorsports United States William Binnie
United Kingdom Allen Timpany		 Lola B05/42-Zytek LMP2 318 18th 1st
2011 United Kingdom Jota United Kingdom Simon Dolan
United Kingdom Sam Hancock		 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 GTE
Pro		 74 DNF DNF

References

  1. ↑ "2013 FIA WEC - Liste des catégorisations des pilotes" (PDF). nextgen-auto.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "2014 GT3 Driver Categorisation" (PDF). fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Dagys, John (20 November 2017). "FIA Releases Provisional 2018 Driver Ratings List". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "2007 24 Hours of Le Mans". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "2011 24 Hours of Le Mans". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 August 2023.