BJR joins Kumho Series
Brad Jones Racing will become the first team to run across three categories of V8 Supercars, expanding into the Kuhmo Series next year.
The Albury-based squad currently runs three cars in the V8 Supercars Championship, three in the development category the Dunlop Series and now ventures into the 2016 Kumho Tyre Australian V8 Touring Car Series.
The Kumho Series has become a home for old V8 Supercars chassis, and will run alongside the V8 Supercars Championship at Winton and Ipswich next year.
BJR has grown from a one-car operation in V8 Supercars in 2001 to now run title-contending cars in the championship and Dunlop Series.
Team owner Brad Jones sees the Kumho Series category as the perfect place for young drivers to develop their skills.
“The thing I like most about the Kumho Series is that it is an opportunity to drive a V8 Supercar without the massive pressures that come from being in the V8 Supercars Championship and Dunlop Series,” Jones said.
“It is perfect for someone new to the sport that wants to be a touring car driver rather than going through the open wheeler route as they can be learning what makes a touring car work from day one.
“We are excited to be involved with the Kumho Series. We’d really like to run a car in this category as a stepping stone pathway for a young driver to our other championship programs.”
The Kumho Series has been operating since 2008 and next year takes a step of evolution with the addition of Commodore VE/VE II and Falcon FG models from the Dunlop Series to its eligibility list.
The car BJR will campaign in the 2016 Kumho Series is the Alliance Truck Parts Commodore VE II currently driven in the Dunlop Series by Andrew Jones.
It’s a special car in BJR’s history given it claimed the team’s first V8 Supercars Championship race win in Jason Bright’s hands at Barbagallo in 2011.
It finished fourth in the 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Bright and Matt Halliday and was the same car in which Bright took NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip for a memorable hot lap around Mount Panorama a year later – a video clip that has gone viral online since!
The 2016 Kumho Series will be held over five rounds with two supporting the V8 Supercars Championship at Winton and Queensland Raceway.
The Dunlop Series will not contest those events, so BJR’s Dunlop Series crew will take on the responsibility of the Kumho Series car next year, giving the crew and Wodonga Motorsport TAFE students another opportunity to further develop their skills.
The team’s Kumho Series driver, sponsor and car livery will be confirmed in the new year.
