Jones: Gen3 'very real' with chassis delivery

Having a complete chassis in his team workshop makes Gen3 “very real”, says Brad Jones.

Brad Jones Racing took PACE Innovation’s first complete chassis at Sandown.

PACE is one of four outfits building Gen3 chassis along with Triple Eight, Erebus Motorsport and Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Erebus has since completed the build of its first Gen3 chassis.

The Erebus and BJR chassis were complete without front clip, which has since been ticked off.

The General Motors and Ford engines are currently in the United States for durability testing.

BJR will campaign Chevrolet Camaros, having raced GM machinery since 2008.

The team is expected to field an unchanged driver line-up next season.

For Jones, having a Gen3 chassis in his Albury headquarters makes next year’s mission all the more exciting.

“It’s pretty exciting to have it sitting in the middle of the workshop,” Jones told Supercars.com.

“We can’t wait to get everything else and turn it into a moving car.

“To take it off a computer screen and have it sitting in your workshop makes it very real.

“We’ve got parts getting churned out for it every day.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, for sure. But we can’t wait to tuck in.”

The Gen3 Mustang tested at Queensland Raceway last week.

With chassis being built in the background, having the front end signed off will only fast-track progress.

BJR is one of six teams to run Camaros next year along with Triple Eight, Erebus, Team 18, PremiAir Racing and Matt Stone Racing.

Ford will be represented by Dick Johnson Racing, Tickford Racing, WAU, Grove Racing and the Blanchard Racing Team.

Testing is set to commence until each team has at least one car.

Given chassis builds timeframes, testing is likely commence as early as December.

The 2023 season will commence on the streets of Newcastle on March 10-12.

“There are dates we’re working towards, as I’m sure other teams are,” Jones said of testing.

“Once all the bits come in, we’ll have a clearer framework and we’ll get stuck in.

“We obviously haven’t done too much to it so far, but it’s in the shop and ready to go."

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