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Timeline: BJR's manufacturer history in Supercars

Supercars
10 May
Confirmation of BJR's move from Chevrolet to Toyota brings in the dawn of a new era for the Albury team

Confirmation of Brad Jones Racing's move from Chevrolet to Toyota for the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship brings in the dawn of a new era for the only New South Wales-based team in the championship.

After much speculation, it was confirmed today at the Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440 that the Albury squad will join Walkinshaw Andretti United in running the GR Supra, with six Toyotas set to be on the grid.

Toyota will be the fourth different manufacturer that BJR have represented in the Supercars Championship since team owner Brad Jones made his first full-time start at Phillip Island in 2000.

The team have a long history of running touring car programs with different manufacturers before their Supercars days, including running Mitsubishi's Group A Starion in the 1980's, and Audi's factory Super Touring efforts in the 1990's.

Jones and BJR also have a storied history with Holden and Chevrolet in AUSCAR and NASCAR, where they became an unstoppable force at the Calder Park Thunderdome.

Ford: 2000-2007

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Jones and BJR made the move from Super Touring to Supercars for the year 2000 amid the decline of the two-litre formula, purchasing an ex-Tony Longhurst license and AU Falcon. Their first year was best known for a massive rollover in Adelaide, however 2001 was a different story, as he teamed up with two-time British Touring Car champion John Cleland to finish a memorable second at Bathurst, after starting 22nd. Expanding to two cars for 2002 with John Bowe joining the team, the Jones/Bowe combination became a potent one at Mount Panorama, with Bowe qualifying second on the mountain in 2002 and 2003, and the pair claiming third in 2004. However, success outside of Bathurst proved hard to come by, with ninth for Bowe in the 2004 season the best season result for the team with Ford. Bowe led home an unlikely one-two finish at a non-championship Australian Grand Prix support race in 2005, however that proved to be as good as it would get. Results faded as the team fought with outdated machinery in their final years with Ford, before the team crossed the divide in 2008.

Holden: 2008-2022

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2008 brought in a new era for BJR, as they moved from in-house built Falcons to ex-HRT Commodores, and it provided immediate success with Cameron McConville claiming a debut podium at the Adelaide 500. The arrival of Jason Richards in 2009 brought the team their maiden pole position in Darwin, whilst some final stint heroics from the Kiwi at Bathurst saw he and McConville almost steal an unlikely win on the mountain. Richards' cancer diagnosis the following year, and untimely passing in 2011 rocked both the team and the wider Supercars community, and all of BJR's cars still carry the JR Star to this day. Jason Bright joined the team in 2010, and took Richards' #8 Commodore to BJR's maiden championship victory in Perth, before backing it up three weeks later at Winton. A change in regulations in 2013 saw BJR become a force to be reckoned with, as Bright and Fabian Coulthard both became perennial frontrunners and race winners. Tim Slade and Nick Percat also became race winners with the team in this time, whilst Andre Heimgartner threatened race wins when he joined the team in 2022.

Chevrolet: 2023-2025

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The shift to Gen3 in 2023 saw Holden make way for Chevrolet, and once again BJR were a team who gained a big benefit in the change of regulations. Both Heimgartner and Bryce Fullwood came out of the blocks firing in 2023, though neither could break through for a victory. Heimgartner would finish seventh in the standings, whilst Fullwood would claim 11th, having been inside the top 10 for most of the year. Whilst 2024 was more of a struggle in Albury, however the highs were bigger than any result in 2023. Heimgartner claimed an emotional home victory in Taupō, and Fullwood claimed his first BJR podium in Tasmania. At the time of publication, Heimgartner finds himself firmly in the fight for the Finals at the end of the 2025 season.

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