Brad Jones

Bradley Jones (born 2 April 1960) is an Australian former racing driver. Jones now acts as team co-principal with his brother Kim in the V8 Supercar racing team, Brad Jones Racing.

Although he is more known as a V8 team owner, Brad Jones was successful in nearly all forms of motorsport he competed in. He is the only person to have won both the Australian AUSCAR and NASCAR championships.

Motorsport career Jones was born and grew up in the country town of Albury in New South Wales, where he still lives now. He has a range of experience in domestic and international racing that he puts to use in the V8 Supercar team he owns and runs with his brother Kim. Jones has driven with a number of manufacturers including Ford, Holden, Lotus, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Mitsubishi at domestic and international circuits in Japan, Macau and Belgium as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Jones started his racing career at the age of 14 doing motocross racing from which he eventually progressed up to Formula Ford in 1980. He then spent a number of years occasionally driving a twin-turbo Chevrolet V8 powered Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC for Shepparton based racer Bryan Thompson. While driving for Thompson, Jones finished seventh in the 1985 Australian GT Championship driving the Mercedes and a Chevrolet Monza previously driven by Bob Jane, Peter Brock and Allan Grice (Thompson would win the championship also driving both cars, while Grice had won the championship in the Monza in 1984). Jones also proved himself as one of the stars of Series Production racing driving a Mitsubishi Starion Turbo during the early to mid-1980s, having many battles with production car "king" Peter Fitzgerald in another Starion, and former Bathurst winners Brian Sampson in yet another Starion, and Colin Bond in an Alfa Romeo GTV6.

In 1985, the Mitsubishi Ralliart Team invited him to race in the two major Australian endurance races, the 1985 Castrol 500 at Sandown, and the 1985 James Hardie 1000 in a factory Group A Mitsubishi Starion. Jones' first start in the Bathurst 1000 lasted only just past the first turn on the first lap. A mid-field mishap saw Jones' Starion and the Holden VK Commodore of 1981 race winner John French collide and spin off into the tyre barrier with both cars too damaged to continue. This relationship with the Ralliart team lasted on and off until the end of 1988, with Jones racing extensively in Japan and often being overlooked for Australian races. During this time he qualified the Starion in the top 10 at Bathurst for the 1986 James Hardie 1000, and finish 10th outright in 1988.

For 1989, Jones moved into the "big time", landing the drive as Peter Brock's teammate in the Mobil 1 Racing team driving an ex-Andy Rouse BTCC Ford Sierra RS500 in the 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship, though his series was cut short after Barry Sheene had wrecked Jones' car while testing at Winton. He would later qualify his car in the top 10 at the 1989 Tooheys 1000 and partnering Paul Radisich would finish the race in ninth position. In the 1990 the cost of running the expensive European based Sierra's forced Brock to join forces with Andrew Miedecke (whose own Sierra, like Brock's, had links to British Sierra expert Rouse), leaving Jones without a drive. From 1990–1994 he was then called upon to drive for the Factory Holden Racing Team in the endurance races. While he was with the factory team he was quite successful and gained many podiums at both Sandown and Bathurst paired with Neil Crompton (1990–91), Tomas Mezera (1992), Wayne Gardner (1993) and Craig Lowndes (1994).

Jones' AUSCAR career started in 1988 in the third annual Goodyear AUSCAR 200 at the Calder Park Thunderdome, a track he would come to dominate, in a Holden VL Commodore dubbed the "Green Meanie" due to its colour. Jones quickly became a front runner in the series, eventually winning 5 consecutive championships in his self run team (with help from his brother Kim), Coopertools Racing (later with corporate Castrol sponsorship), all using Holden Commodore's. After dominating the AUSCAR's, Jones then turned his hands to the Australian NASCAR series and won the 94/95 championship driving a Chevrolet Lumina. Jones wasn't just dominant at the Thunderdome, he was also a regular winner on the ½ mile flat track Super Bowl at the Adelaide International Raceway (the only other paved oval in Australia), while his road racing background also saw him a winner on tracks like the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit and the short course at Oran Park.

In 1995, Jones switched from the Holden Racing Team to the Wayne Gardner owned Coca-Cola Team for whom he drove in both Sandown and Bathurst for 1995 and 1996 in a Holden VR Commodore. Once he lost the contract to drive with HRT he had to wait another year to get a contract to drive with Mark Larkham's Mitre 10 Ford Team. In the mid 1990s he also set up a highly successful Audi Super Touring team for the Australian Super Touring Championship, winning the championship in 1996 and 1998. He finished second with Frank Biela in an Audi A4 Quattro in the Super Touring 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000, while finishing third in 1998 with regular partner Cameron McConville.

Jones also won the 1994 Australian Super Production Car Series in a Lotus Esprit.

In 2000, the Jones brothers agreed that it would be a good decision to move to V8 Supercars full-time with their own team, the OzEmail Racing Team. In just the second year after the team was established, Jones and co-driver John Cleland finished second at the 2001 V8 Supercar 1000 at Bathurst after fighting Mark Skaife right to the end of the 1000 kilometre race with a gap at the end of only just over 2 seconds after a 6-hour race.

In 2000, Jones, thanks to his success in Super Touring with Audi, was also drafted into the Audi Sport North America team (run by Joest Racing) for the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Race of a Thousand Years held on 31 December. This race was run on the Adelaide Street Circuit using the full Grand Prix version of the track rather than the shortened V8 Supercars version. Jones was on standby for lead driver Allan McNish who had injured his back stepping out of his Kilt after a pre-event photo shoot, and although Brad qualified the car, McNish recovered in time to take his place in the Audi R8 LMP, leaving Jones a spectator. McNish and his regular co-driver Rinaldo Capello won the race which also saw McNish crowned the inaugural ALMS Champion.

In 2002, Brad Jones Racing returned to the Mount Panorama Circuit with a two car team, Jones teamed up with John Bowe and led the race for the first 59 laps, setting the fastest ever race lap time in the history of the event at the time. In 2003 BJR didn't finish well but that took a turn in 2004 when the team took 3rd at the mountain.

In 2005, there was a change of team sponsor and the team was now called Team BOC. The team started on a high when Jones and Bowe placed first and second in the V8 Supercar support races at the Australian Grand Prix when they were the only team to choose dry slicks while the others took wet tyres in changing weather conditions. It then swiftly changed for the worse at Bathurst when Jones and the team could only manage 26th qualifying position and on race day were wiped out while charging through the field within the first 10 laps.

In 2006, there was new hope for Jones and the team as they had a new engine supplier, Stone Brothers Racing, and staff changes. But the SBR engine pack lacked reliability and power, which made the engine famous and the team struggled, especially after one of their codrivers (Mark Porter) was killed in an accident at the Bathurst 1000 km round. At the end of the season, long time driver John Bowe left the team and moved to Paul Cruickshank Racing. Jones' nephew, Andrew Jones joined the team after his two years at Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2005 and Tasman Motorsport in 2006.

Jones announced his retirement from full-time racing after the 2007 New Zealand round. His car was driven for the rest of the season by Simon Wills. Jones continues to appear in media roles regularly having taken on guest commentator roles with TV broadcasts over ten years ago, and co-hosted with Neil Crompton, which was hosted by internet provider Telstra Bigpond as part of their V8 Supercar package until it was axed at the end of 2008. Jones continued to drive for his team in an endurance co-driver role, finishing fifth in the 2008 Bathurst 1000.

Supercars Championship results (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Supercars results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Position Points 1999 Larkham Motor Sport Ford Falcon (AU) EASR1 EASR2 EASR3 ADER4 BARR5 BARR6 BARR7 PHIR8 PHIR9 PHIR10 HDVR11 HDVR12 HDVR13 SANR14 SANR15 SANR16 QLDR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 CALR20 CALR21 CALR22 SYMR23 SYMR24 SYMR25 WINR26 WINR27 WINR28 ORAR29 ORAR30 ORAR31 QLDR32 BATR33 60th 108 2000 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) PHIR1 PHIR2 BARR3 BARR4 BARR5 ADER6 ADER7 EASR8 EASR9 EASR10 HDVR11 HDVR12 HDVR13 CANR14 CANR15 CANR16 QLDR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 WINR20 WINR21 WINR22 ORAR23 ORAR24 ORAR25 CALR26 CALR27 CALR28 QLDR29 SANR30 SANR31 SANR32 BATR33 24th 297 2001 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) PHIR1 PHIR2 ADER3 ADER4 EASR5 EASR6 HDVR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 CANR10 CANR11 CANR12 BARR13 BARR14 BARR15 CALR16 CALR17 CALR18 ORAR19 ORAR20 QLDR21 WINR22 WINR23 BATR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SANR28 SANR29 SANR30 18th 1542 2002 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) ADER1 ADER2 PHIR3 PHIR4 EASR5 EASR6 EASR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 HDVR10 CANR11 CANR12 CANR13 BARR14 BARR15 BARR16 ORAR17 ORAR18 WINR19 WINR20 QLDR21 BATR22 SURR23 SURR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SANR28 SANR29 15th 621 2003 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) ADER1 ADER1 PHIR3 EASR4 WINR5 BARR6 BARR7 BARR8 HDVR9 HDVR10 HDVR11 QLDR12 ORAR13 SANR14 BATR15 SURR16 SURR17 PUKR18 PUKR19 PUKR20 EASR21 EASR22 20th 1127 2004 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) ADER1 ADER2 EASR3 PUKR4 PUKR5 PUKR6 HDVR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 BARR10 BARR11 BARR12 QLDR13 WINR14 ORAR15 ORAR16 SANR17 BATR18 SURR19 SURR20 SYMR21 SYMR22 SYMR23 EASR24 EASR25 EASR26 16th 1235 2005 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) ADER1 ADER2 PUKR3 PUKR4 PUKR5 BARR6 BARR7 BARR8 EASR9 EASR10 SHAR11 SHAR12 SHAR13 HDVR14 HDVR15 HDVR16 QLDR17 ORAR18 ORAR19 SANR20 BATR21 SURR22 SURR23 SURR24 SYMR25 SYMR26 SYMR27 PHIR28 PHIR29 PHIR30 21st 1027 2006 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BA) ADER1 ADER2 PUKR3 PUKR4 PUKR5 BARR6 BARR7 BARR8 WINR9 WINR10 WINR11 HDVR12 HDVR13 HDVR14 QLDR15 QLDR16 QLDR17 ORAR18 ORAR19 ORAR20 SANR21 BATR22 SURR23 SURR24 SURR25 SYMR26 SYMR27 SYMR28 BHRR29 BHRR30 BHRR31 PHIR32 PHIR33 PHIR34 25th 1612 2007 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BF) ADER1 ADER2 BARR3 BARR4 BARR5 PUKR6 PUKR7 PUKR8 WINR9 WINR10 WINR11 EASR12 EASR13 EASR14 HDVR15 HDVR16 HDVR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 QLDR20 ORAR21 ORAR22 ORAR23 SANR24 BATR25 SURR26 SURR27 SURR28 BHRR29 BHRR30 BHRR31 SYMR32 SYMR33 SYMR34 PHIR35 PHIR36 PHIR37 57th 0 2008 Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore (VE) ADER1 ADER2 EASR3 EASR4 EASR5 HAMR6 HAMR7 HAMR8 BARR9 BARR10 BARR11 SANR12 SANR13 SANR14 HDVR15 HDVR16 HDVR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 QLDR20 WINR21 WINR22 WINR23 PHIQ PHIR24 BATR25 SURR26 SURR27 SURR28 BHRR29 BHRR30 BHRR31 SYMR32 SYMR33 SYMR34 ORAR35 ORAR36 ORAR37 33rd 343 2009 Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore (VE) ADER1 ADER2 HAMR3 HAMR4 WINR5 WINR6 SYMR7 SYMR8 HDVR9 HDVR10 TOWR11 TOWR12 SANR13 SANR14 QLDR15 QLDR16 PHIQ PHIR17 BATR18 SURR19 SURR20 SURR21 SURR22 PHIR23 PHIR24 BARR25 BARR26 SYDR27 SYDR28 57th 104

Australian Super Touring Championship (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Australian Super Touring Championship results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Position Points 1995 Orix Audi Sport Australia Audi 80 Quattro PHIR1 PHIR2 ORAR3 ORAR4 SYMR5 SYMR6 CALR7 CALR8 MALR9 MALR10 LAKR11 LAKR12 WINR13 WINR14 EASR15 EASR16 3rd 232 1996 Brad Jones Racing Audi 80 Quattro AMAR1 AMAR2 LAKR3 LAKR4 AMAR5 AMAR6 CALR7 CALR8 MALR9 MALR10 LAKR11 LAKR12 WINR13 WINR14 EASR15 EASR16 3rd 232

Complete World Sportscar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points 1984 Thomson-Fowler Motorsport Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC – Chevrolet MNZ SIL LMS NUR BHT MOS SPA IMO FJI KYL SAN NC 0 Not eligible for series points

Complete World Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points 1987 Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion Turbo MNZ JAR DIJ NUR SPA BNO SIL BAT CLD WEL FJI NC 0 Not eligible for series points

Complete Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 DC Points 1988 Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion Turbo BAT WEL PUK FJI NC 0

Complete American Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 2000 Audi Sport North America LMP Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Twin-Turbo V8 SEB CHA SIL NÜR SON MOS TEX ROS PET MON LSV ADEovr:1cls:1 NC 0 Jones qualified the race winning #77 Audi R8 in Adelaide (Rinaldo Capello set the pole time) but he did not drive in the race.

Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Car# Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1985 43 Mitsubishi Ralliart Peter Fitzgerald Mitsubishi Starion Turbo B 0 DNF DNF 1986 53 Mitsubishi Ralliart Akihiko Nakaya Mitsubishi Starion Turbo B 61 DNF DNF 1988 31 Ralliart Australia Terry Shiel Mike Preston Mitsubishi Starion Turbo A 145 10th 10th 1989 105 Mobil 1 Racing Paul Radisich Ford Sierra RS500 A 153 9th 9th 1990 7 Holden Racing Team Neil Crompton Holden Commodore VL SS Group A SV A 159 5th 5th 1991 7 Holden Racing Team Neil Crompton Holden Commodore VN SS Group A SV 1 100 DNF DNF 1992 15 Holden Racing Team Tomas Mezera Holden Commodore VP C 131 15th 2nd 1993 16 Holden Racing Team Wayne Gardner Holden Commodore VP A 160 3rd 3rd 1994 015 Holden Racing Team Craig Lowndes Holden Commodore VP A 161 2nd 2nd 1995 4 Wayne Gardner Racing Win Percy Holden Commodore VR 161 5th 5th 1996 4 Wayne Gardner Racing Tony Scott Holden Commodore VR 23 DNF DNF 1997* 1 Brad Jones Racing Frank Biela Audi A4 Quattro ST 161 2nd 2nd 1998* 1 Brad Jones Racing Cameron McConville Audi A4 Quattro ST 161 3rd 3rd 1998 10 Larkham Motor Sport Mark Larkham Ford Falcon EL 161 4th 4th 1999 10 Larkham Motor Sport Mark Larkham Ford Falcon AU 62 DNF DNF 2000 21 Brad Jones Racing Tomas Mezera Ford Falcon AU 159 DNF DNF 2001 21 Brad Jones Racing John Cleland Ford Falcon AU 161 2nd 2nd 2002 21 Brad Jones Racing John Bowe Ford Falcon AU 158 16th 16th 2003 21 Brad Jones Racing John Bowe Ford Falcon BA 159 10th 10th 2004 12 Brad Jones Racing John Bowe Ford Falcon BA 161 3rd 3rd 2005 21 Brad Jones Racing John Bowe Ford Falcon BA 125 21st 21st 2006 14 Brad Jones Racing John Bowe Ford Falcon BA 161 11th 11th 2008 14 Brad Jones Racing Max Wilson Holden Commodore VE 161 5th 5th 2009 14 Brad Jones Racing Andrew Jones Holden Commodore VE 145 23rd 23rd Super Touring races

Complete Bathurst 24 Hour results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 2002 Prancing Horse Racing Scuderia John Bowe Paul Morris John Teulan Ferrari 360 N-GT 1 96 DNF DNF