Brad Jones Racing
Encyclopedia
Brad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team centred around brothers Kim and Brad Jones and is based in Albury, New South Wales
. Presently the team compete in the V8 Supercar Series, which they joined in 2000. Recently they have also returned to the Australian Formula Ford Championship
where Brad and Kim began their careers. The team and its personnel have a strong connection to the district of Albury-Wodonga and are both the only rurally based V8 Supercar team and the last team in the International Championship to still be based in New South Wales.
racing in Australia with the newly redeveloped Brad Jones Racing one of the first teams involved in the fledging stock car series. Initially BJR raced only in AUSCAR, the second-tier series where they quickly grew to become the dominant team in the series, winning five consecutive titles from 1990 to 1994. Occasional forays into NASCAR blosomed into a full NASCAR campaign in the 1994/95 season and the team were rewarded with a sixth consecutive title.
series as the official Audi
team in the series. The team then spent the next five years swapping titles with Paul Morris Motorsport, the official BMW team, with Jones winning two championships and Greg Murphy
and Cameron McConville
winning many races during the six year period when Super Touring was at its peak and twice finished on the podium of the Bathurst 1000
.
and driver Brad Jones, the team achieved modest results, highlighted by second place in the 2001 Bathurst 1000
where Jones partnered John Cleland
.
From 2002 to 2004, with continued sponsorship from OzEmail
, BJR expanded their operation to two cars, with former ATCC champion John Bowe
joining the team from Briggs Motor Sport. Performance at Bathurst continued to be strong, Bowe qualifying 2nd in 2002 and 2003, and the Bowe-Jones combination finishing 3rd in 2004. However, this pace could not be found at all rounds of the championship, and OzEmail left the team at the conclusion of the 2004 series.
In 2005, BJR was parented by gas giant, BOC
and was re-named as Team BOC. They got their first win at the Australian Grand Prix (Non- Championship) courtesy of Bowe in race 2, but success in the following championship rounds eluded them. A low for the year came at the Bathurst 1000
when Jones was caught up in a lap 1 accident with Garth Tander
and Greg Ritter. When the car was being repaired, Jones sat in the car, utterly shattered and visibly upset.
The team started 2006 rejuvenated, after a disappointing 2005 season with a bold, new livery and a partnership with championship winning team Stone Brothers Racing
with BJR using SBR engines. The season was marred with bad luck, with the new spec SBR engines power not suiting the BJR engineered chassis and one of the co-drivers for the Sandown 500
and Bathurst 1000
, Mark Porter, died while racing in the development series.
In 2007, Brad's nephew and Kim's son Andrew Jones replaced John Bowe
. Once again, the team struggled on in the early stage of this season and Brad Jones publicly announced his retirement on Seven breakfast show, Sunrise
. Team BOC drafted 2001 Development Series champion Simon Wills to drive the now vacated #14 BF Falcon at round 4 at Winton. The season had another bad season, with less than pleasing results and at the biggest race of the year, Bathurst, both cars failed to finish with car #14 crashing heavily in qualifying and car #12 having an engine fire.
V8 Supercars previously campaigned successfully by the Holden Racing Team
(WP03 & WP05) and now use Walkinshaw Performance
built engines in their cars.
With new cars there was also the conformation of a new driver at the team. Cameron McConville
was also confirmed as the driver of car # 14 in 2008, also with the addition of a new title sponsor for Car #14, Wow Sight and Sound. McConville returned to the team, having spent two seasons with BJR in the late nineties, driving an Audi
in the Australian Super Touring Championship
. He was also reunited with his old engineer Wally Storey, whom he worked with at one of his previous teams, the Lansvale Racing Team. He celebrated his return to the team with a third place at the 2008 Clipsal 500
. In 2009 Jason Richards
joined the team replacing Andrew Jones in the BOC Commodore using a new number, #8.
In 2010, Brad Jones Racing expanded to a three car operation after Jason Bright joined the team bringing his Britek Motorsport license. Bright replaced Cameron McConville, with new sponsorship from Trading Post and Karl Reindler drove the Britek entry with Fair Dinkum Sheds as the naming rights sponsor for the #21 Commodore. Jason Richards stayed in the #8 BOC Gases Commodore.
The team stilled use Walkinshaw Racing chassis in 2010, with WR 003 being Karl Reinder's #21 Fair Dinkum Commodore, WR 005 is Jason Bright's #14 Trading Post Commodore and WR 010 a new commdore for 2010 is Jason Richards' #8 BOC Gases Commodore. The Team will use Noonan Race Engines in the three commodores. Andrew Jones, Matt Haliday and David Wall were enduro event drivers with Jones being with Richards in #8, Haliday with Bright in #14 and Wall with Reindler in #21. Fabrizio Giovanardi and Alain Menu are the international enduro drivers for October's Gold Coast 600. After the Symmons Plains event in Tasmania, Jason Richards was diagonosed with stomach cancer and couldn't compete in the final two events of 2010. Andrew Jones replaced him for final two events of 2010 in #8 BOC Gases Commodore. Trading Post announced that they were not continuing with BJR after 2010. It moved to FPR for Will Davison's car. Jason Richards is still having chemotherapy and the team signed Jason Bargwanna from Kelly Racing. Jason Bright changed to #8 BOC Gases Commodore, Bargwanna jumped in #14 car. Karl Reindler stayed in #21 Fair Dinkum Sheds entry. ROCK energy drinks were supposed to follow Bargwanna from Kelly Racing but went into administration. #14 ran BOC for the first 2 rounds of 2011 before it was announced that Jana Living joined BJR on Bargwanna's car for the rest of the 2011 season.
Brad Jones
Nathan Pretty
Matthew Coleman
Greg Murphy
* 
Tamara Vidali
Cameron McConville
* 
Frank Biela
* 
Jean-François Hemroulle
* Paul Morris
* Paul Radisich
* Tomas Mezera
* 
John Cleland
John Bowe
* Tim Leahey
Andrew Jones
Dale Brede
Chris Pither
* Mark Porter
* Michael Caruso
Simon Wills
* 
Christian Murchison
* Damien White
Cameron McConville
* Endurance race co-drive only
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
. Presently the team compete in the V8 Supercar Series, which they joined in 2000. Recently they have also returned to the Australian Formula Ford Championship
Australian Formula Ford Championship
The Australian Formula Ford Championship is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It has been held annually since 1970, originally as a national series, and later as the 'Driver-to-Europe' series...
where Brad and Kim began their careers. The team and its personnel have a strong connection to the district of Albury-Wodonga and are both the only rurally based V8 Supercar team and the last team in the International Championship to still be based in New South Wales.
History
Brad Jones Racing began as a Formula Ford team in which both Brad and Kim raced. Kim stopped racing relatively early, partially in recognition of Brad's ability as a driver with Kim becoming team manager. The team's peak in open wheel racing came in 1981 when running an Elwyn chassis, Brad finished sixth in the national series. The pair faded as the 1980s developed but after a return via Bryan Thomson's Sports Sedan/GT team led to the Jones brothers becoming involved in the Mitsubishi touring car team known occasionally as Mistubishi Ralliart. Racing with Mitsubishi gave Brad several opportunities to race overseas, racing Starion turbo touring cars in Japan and across Asia. Eventually the brothers formed their own team BJ Motorsport to further the Starion touring car operation but by 1986 that was fading and Brad Jones become a hired gun driver for other touring car teams.AUSCAR
A way forward emerged with the creation of NASCARNASCAR in Australia
The American stock car racing category NASCAR raced in Australia from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. After strong initial interest, particularly in Melbourne at Australia's only Superspeedway, the Calder Park Thunderdome, the category collapsed in the early 2000s and has defied several attempts...
racing in Australia with the newly redeveloped Brad Jones Racing one of the first teams involved in the fledging stock car series. Initially BJR raced only in AUSCAR, the second-tier series where they quickly grew to become the dominant team in the series, winning five consecutive titles from 1990 to 1994. Occasional forays into NASCAR blosomed into a full NASCAR campaign in the 1994/95 season and the team were rewarded with a sixth consecutive title.
Super Touring
After running a Super Production Car Lotus Esprit to another title victory in 1994, BJR moved away from the fading Superspeedway scene into circuit racing and in 1995 entered the Australian Super TouringAustralian Super Touring Championship
The Australian Super Touring Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars.-History:Super Touring was introduced into Australia in 1993 when CAMS replaced the existing Group 3A Touring Car category with a new two class Group 3A...
series as the official Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
team in the series. The team then spent the next five years swapping titles with Paul Morris Motorsport, the official BMW team, with Jones winning two championships and Greg Murphy
Greg Murphy
Greg Murphy is a racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond presenting Top Gear, when it had its first international Live show at ASB Showgrounds in Auckland from February 12 - 15th 2009, and again when the show...
and Cameron McConville
Cameron McConville
Cameron 'Cam' McConville is an Australian racing driver and motorsport media personality. While retired from full-time competition McConville still races occasionally and is an indemand endurance event co-driver. McConville spent 14 years as a professional driver, ten of those in the largest...
winning many races during the six year period when Super Touring was at its peak and twice finished on the podium of the Bathurst 1000
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
.
Debut in V8 Supercars
The team entered the V8 series in 2000 after purchasing an AU Ford Falcon and franchise from Tony Longhurst. Running as a one car team in 2000 and 2001 with major sponsor OzEmailOzEmail
OzEmail was a major Internet service provider in Australia, until it was acquired by the iiNet ISP on February 28, 2005.-History:In the early 1980s, Sean Howard was the editor of the Australian Personal Computer magazine and was running a small electronic mail service called Microtex...
and driver Brad Jones, the team achieved modest results, highlighted by second place in the 2001 Bathurst 1000
2001 V8Supercar 1000
The 2001 V8 Supercar 1000 was the fifth running of the Australia 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997...
where Jones partnered John Cleland
John Cleland (racing driver)
John Cleland . is a retired Scottish auto racing driver. He raced autocross and hillclimb in the 1970s, before achieving success in British Production Car and Thundersaloon championships, before joining Vauxhall for the 1989 British Touring Car Championship...
.
From 2002 to 2004, with continued sponsorship from OzEmail
OzEmail
OzEmail was a major Internet service provider in Australia, until it was acquired by the iiNet ISP on February 28, 2005.-History:In the early 1980s, Sean Howard was the editor of the Australian Personal Computer magazine and was running a small electronic mail service called Microtex...
, BJR expanded their operation to two cars, with former ATCC champion John Bowe
John Bowe (racing driver)
John Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a 1969 Ford Mustang in the historic series, Touring Car Masters....
joining the team from Briggs Motor Sport. Performance at Bathurst continued to be strong, Bowe qualifying 2nd in 2002 and 2003, and the Bowe-Jones combination finishing 3rd in 2004. However, this pace could not be found at all rounds of the championship, and OzEmail left the team at the conclusion of the 2004 series.
In 2005, BJR was parented by gas giant, BOC
The BOC Group
The BOC Group plc was the official name of the multinational industrial gas and British based company more commonly known as BOC, and now a part of The Linde Group. In September 2004, BOC had over 30,000 employees on six continents, with sales of over £4.6 billion. BOC was a constituent of the...
and was re-named as Team BOC. They got their first win at the Australian Grand Prix (Non- Championship) courtesy of Bowe in race 2, but success in the following championship rounds eluded them. A low for the year came at the Bathurst 1000
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
when Jones was caught up in a lap 1 accident with Garth Tander
Garth Tander
Garth Tander is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Since 1998 Tander has been a competitor in touring car racing series V8 Supercar Championship Series. Tander was the 2007 series champion for the HSV Dealer Team and is a three-time winner in Australia's most...
and Greg Ritter. When the car was being repaired, Jones sat in the car, utterly shattered and visibly upset.
The team started 2006 rejuvenated, after a disappointing 2005 season with a bold, new livery and a partnership with championship winning team Stone Brothers Racing
Stone Brothers Racing
Stone Brothers Racing is an Australian motor racing team competing in the International V8 Supercars Championship, formed in 1998 by experienced New Zealand-born motorsport veterans, Ross Stone and Jim Stone after buying out their partner in their previous racing team...
with BJR using SBR engines. The season was marred with bad luck, with the new spec SBR engines power not suiting the BJR engineered chassis and one of the co-drivers for the Sandown 500
Sandown 500
The Sandown 500 is an endurance motor race staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne in Victoria, Australia between 1964 and 2011. It was typically held in September, the month before Australia’s premier endurance race, the Bathurst 1000. The “500” was not run in 1966, 1967, 1999, 2000, 2008,...
and Bathurst 1000
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
, Mark Porter, died while racing in the development series.
In 2007, Brad's nephew and Kim's son Andrew Jones replaced John Bowe
John Bowe (racing driver)
John Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a 1969 Ford Mustang in the historic series, Touring Car Masters....
. Once again, the team struggled on in the early stage of this season and Brad Jones publicly announced his retirement on Seven breakfast show, Sunrise
Sunrise (TV program)
Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network. On weekdays the programme follows Seven Early News, and runs from 6am through to 9am.-History:...
. Team BOC drafted 2001 Development Series champion Simon Wills to drive the now vacated #14 BF Falcon at round 4 at Winton. The season had another bad season, with less than pleasing results and at the biggest race of the year, Bathurst, both cars failed to finish with car #14 crashing heavily in qualifying and car #12 having an engine fire.
Move To Holden
In 2008, Brad Jones Racing decided it was time for a change after finishing the 2007 teams championship in last position, behind numerous single car operations. They made the decision to change their manufacturer from their long standing association Ford to the rival Holden. They bought two HoldenHolden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
V8 Supercars previously campaigned successfully by the Holden Racing Team
Holden Racing Team
The Holden Racing Team is a Melbourne based motor racing team. HRT is the most successful V8 Supercar racing team in the history of the category, having won the drivers championship six times, and the series signature race the Bathurst 1000 seven times...
(WP03 & WP05) and now use Walkinshaw Performance
Walkinshaw Performance
Walkinshaw Performance, is an automotive company, involved in motor racing and the production of high performance sporting cars for regular road use...
built engines in their cars.
With new cars there was also the conformation of a new driver at the team. Cameron McConville
Cameron McConville
Cameron 'Cam' McConville is an Australian racing driver and motorsport media personality. While retired from full-time competition McConville still races occasionally and is an indemand endurance event co-driver. McConville spent 14 years as a professional driver, ten of those in the largest...
was also confirmed as the driver of car # 14 in 2008, also with the addition of a new title sponsor for Car #14, Wow Sight and Sound. McConville returned to the team, having spent two seasons with BJR in the late nineties, driving an Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
in the Australian Super Touring Championship
Australian Super Touring Championship
The Australian Super Touring Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars.-History:Super Touring was introduced into Australia in 1993 when CAMS replaced the existing Group 3A Touring Car category with a new two class Group 3A...
. He was also reunited with his old engineer Wally Storey, whom he worked with at one of his previous teams, the Lansvale Racing Team. He celebrated his return to the team with a third place at the 2008 Clipsal 500
2008 Clipsal 500
The 2008 Clipsal 500 was the first race of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 21 to 24 February around the inner city streets of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The Adelaide 500 is a unique event where the round results are determined by the results from the second...
. In 2009 Jason Richards
Jason Richards
Jason Richards is a motor racing driver, currently on break from full time racing due to his fight with cancer, whilst still providing full engineering support for Brad Jones Racing in the Australian touring car series, V8 Supercar.-Early career:Richards started his motor racing career at the age...
joined the team replacing Andrew Jones in the BOC Commodore using a new number, #8.
In 2010, Brad Jones Racing expanded to a three car operation after Jason Bright joined the team bringing his Britek Motorsport license. Bright replaced Cameron McConville, with new sponsorship from Trading Post and Karl Reindler drove the Britek entry with Fair Dinkum Sheds as the naming rights sponsor for the #21 Commodore. Jason Richards stayed in the #8 BOC Gases Commodore.
The team stilled use Walkinshaw Racing chassis in 2010, with WR 003 being Karl Reinder's #21 Fair Dinkum Commodore, WR 005 is Jason Bright's #14 Trading Post Commodore and WR 010 a new commdore for 2010 is Jason Richards' #8 BOC Gases Commodore. The Team will use Noonan Race Engines in the three commodores. Andrew Jones, Matt Haliday and David Wall were enduro event drivers with Jones being with Richards in #8, Haliday with Bright in #14 and Wall with Reindler in #21. Fabrizio Giovanardi and Alain Menu are the international enduro drivers for October's Gold Coast 600. After the Symmons Plains event in Tasmania, Jason Richards was diagonosed with stomach cancer and couldn't compete in the final two events of 2010. Andrew Jones replaced him for final two events of 2010 in #8 BOC Gases Commodore. Trading Post announced that they were not continuing with BJR after 2010. It moved to FPR for Will Davison's car. Jason Richards is still having chemotherapy and the team signed Jason Bargwanna from Kelly Racing. Jason Bright changed to #8 BOC Gases Commodore, Bargwanna jumped in #14 car. Karl Reindler stayed in #21 Fair Dinkum Sheds entry. ROCK energy drinks were supposed to follow Bargwanna from Kelly Racing but went into administration. #14 ran BOC for the first 2 rounds of 2011 before it was announced that Jana Living joined BJR on Bargwanna's car for the rest of the 2011 season.
Brad Jones Racing alumni
Brad Jones Nathan Pretty Matthew Coleman Greg MurphyGreg Murphy
Greg Murphy is a racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond presenting Top Gear, when it had its first international Live show at ASB Showgrounds in Auckland from February 12 - 15th 2009, and again when the show...
Tamara Vidali Cameron McConvilleCameron McConville
Cameron 'Cam' McConville is an Australian racing driver and motorsport media personality. While retired from full-time competition McConville still races occasionally and is an indemand endurance event co-driver. McConville spent 14 years as a professional driver, ten of those in the largest...
Frank BielaFrank Biela
Frank Biela is an auto racing driver, mainly competing in touring cars and sportscar racing. He has raced exclusively in cars manufactured by the Audi marque since 1990....
Jean-François Hemroulle Paul MorrisPaul Morris (motorsport)
Paul Morris is a V8 Supercar racecar driver.-Early career:Paul Morris started his motor racing career at the age of 19 in 1987, driving in the Queensland Gemini Series. He won Rookie of the Year in his debut season, and won the state championship the following year. He spent the next three years...
Paul RadisichPaul Radisich
Paul Radisich is a New Zealand racing driver of Croat origin. He has competed in saloon cars for many years - both European-style tourers and the V8 Supercars of Australia and New Zealand.-Early years:...
Tomas MezeraTomas Mezera
Tomas Mezera, born November 5, 1958, in Czechoslovakia and now resides in Queensland, Australia. Mezera is best known as an Australian racing driver. Mezera's sporting career began as a downhill skier in his native Czechoslovakia, before he emigrated to Australia to be a ski instructor.-Formula...
John ClelandJohn Cleland (racing driver)
John Cleland . is a retired Scottish auto racing driver. He raced autocross and hillclimb in the 1970s, before achieving success in British Production Car and Thundersaloon championships, before joining Vauxhall for the 1989 British Touring Car Championship...
John BoweJohn Bowe (racing driver)
John Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a 1969 Ford Mustang in the historic series, Touring Car Masters....
Tim Leahey Andrew Jones Dale Brede Chris PitherChris Pither
Chris Pither, born December 3, 1986 in Palmerston North, is a New Zealand racing driver. Pither started racing in his home country, coming up through the open wheeler ranks first through the evolved Formula Vee class Formula First, then Formula Ford...
Mark Porter Michael Caruso Simon Wills Christian MurchisonChristian Murchison
Christian Murchison is a Singaporean race car driver.In 2003, Murchison finished 10th in the Eurocup Formula Renault V6 Championship. In 2000 and 2001, he was the runner-up in the Australian Formula Holden Championship for two year consecutive years...
Damien White Cameron McConvilleCameron McConville
Cameron 'Cam' McConville is an Australian racing driver and motorsport media personality. While retired from full-time competition McConville still races occasionally and is an indemand endurance event co-driver. McConville spent 14 years as a professional driver, ten of those in the largest...