Photo: Team BOC

Brad Jones Racing to run Holdens

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Brad Jones Racing is expected to announce that it will end its eight-year association with Ford in 2008, and switch to Holden with a new driver behind the wheel.
Ready to increase Holden’s presence on the starting grid of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship, BJR will compete with two Walkinshaw Performance-built Commodore VEs, backed with an engine deal from Holden Motorsport.

According to the Australian magazine V8X, the team’s plan to “outline a strategy to take their team to the next level” had been scheduled for Saturday of the Bathurst weekend at Mount Panorama.

However, contract requirements in respect to Ford forced BJR to postpone the announcement, most likely until after their contract expires on 31 December.

While the people at BJR cannot officially comment on the matter until then, Ford Racing boss Ray Price did explain the position of any current Blue Oval team’s obligations in such a situation.

“In all sponsorship arrangements there is requirements within contracts for certain confidentialities and [BJR] respect that and we respect that,” says Price. “They are under contract till the end of the year… until things are fully sorted and depending on which way things need to move, we’ll work closely with Kim (Jones) to outline his future.”

A move to GM would not be unfamiliar for Brad Jones who was a regular endurance driver with the Holden Racing Team in the 1990s, scoring two Bathurst podiums in 1993 and 1994.

Brad Jones Racing became an official Ford V8 Supercar team in 2000.

Despite only achieving a best result of a second-place at Bathurst six years ago, the expected move to into the ‘Lion’s Den’ is hoped to return the team to competitive form with strong results the like of which only they can remember.

Crossing to Holden in 2008 would also see the team become the first to switch across the manufacturer fold since Paul Weel Racing in 2003.

Rumours are that current driver Andrew Jones – who campaigned a Commodore at Tasman Motorsport in 2006 – will stay, he will most likely be joined by a new team mate. Simon Wills is still in the picture for the new season, but Cameron McConville is a strong possible candidate at BJR in the coming season.