Capturing the six-round series' crown has taken three frustrating years, after the 55-year-old contracting business owner was runner-up for the previous two seasons he has driven in the competition.
Ross laughed when asked how satisfying a win was.
"We needed to. I was getting sick of getting second all the time."
He won three of the four races and set the fastest race lap in the eight-lap feature final at the weekend's Phillip Island Classic motor racing meeting.
Driving his 1973 McRae GM1, it boosted his win tally to six out of the 19 races he contested over the rounds held at Ruapuna Park, Manfeild, Hampton Downs and Phillip Island.
Ross believed the deciding factor in his victory was using the Christchurch-based Motorsport Solutions team to run his F5000 for the full season, rather than just at select events, as he had done in the past.
The Dunedin driver has had plenty of stiff competition throughout the series, but consistency and staying off the track wall helped cement his lead after round two and he never lost it.
Before the series began, it looked as if New Zealand racing veteran Ken Smith (70), in a new Lola T332, would be the man to beat after he had clinched the title three years running. However, Smith's entanglement with another main rival, Canadian Jay Esterer (McRae GM1) - who won all three races at the opening round - at the second meeting, played into Ross' hands, as both were forced to change cars for the season's remainder.
From rounds three to five, Ross' toughest battles were with series visitor, young English racer Michael Lyons (Lola T400), who dominated the third and fourth meetings.
Their tussles in the third round, coupled with a newly installed engine, propelled Ross on to set a new outright track lap record at Hampton Downs, only for it to be re-broken a week later by Lyons.
Finally, at the fifth round, Ross ended Lyons' eight-race winning streak with lights-to-flag victories in two outings.
As Lyons had missed the opening two rounds, he was out of points contention for the overall title.
The F5000 series victory is the pinnacle of Ross' racing career and comes after earlier successes in the Pre 65 and OSCA (Open Saloon Car Association) classes.
