Brad Jones

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Bradley Jones or Brad Jones (born 2 April 1960) is an Australian racing driver currently competing in V8 Supercars.

Jones 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 motor cross racing from which he eventually progressed up to Formula Ford in 1980. In 1985 the Mitsubishi Ralliart Team realised his talents and gave him a run in the two major Australian endurance races, the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 in a factory Group A Mitsubishi Starion. This relationship lasted a few years. In the late 1980s Jones got called upon for his services to drive for the Factory Holden Racing Team for the endurance races. While he was with the factory team he became quite successful and gained many podiums at both Sandown and Bathurst.

At this very time he was also having great success in the AUSCAR series which he eventually won 5 consecutive times in his self run team, Coopertools Racing, with help from his brother Kim and won the 94/95 Australian NASCAR series likewise. In 1995 he switched from the Holden Racing Team to the Wayne Gardner Coca Cola Team where he drove in both Sandown and Bathurst for 1995 and 1996 in a Holden Commodore. Once he lost the contract to drive with them he had to wait another year to get a contract to drive with the Mitre 10 Larkham Motorsport Ford Team. In the late 1990s He set up a highly successful Audi Super Touring team for the Australian Super Touring Championship and won that twice. He also won the Australian GT-Production Car Championship once.

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 Bathurst 1000 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 2002, Brad Jones Racing returned to the Mount Panorama Circuit with a two car team, Jones teaming up with John Bowe 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 as well at the end 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 Brad 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. Brad sat sobbing in his Team BOC Falcon as he waited for the car to be repaired.

In 2006 there is new hope for Brad and the team as they go into the year with a new engine supplier, Stone Brothers Racing, and staff changes.

[edit] Trivia

• He is a co-host of the Telstra Bigpond V8 Supercar show the PanelBeaters, along with Network Seven commentator Neil Crompton.

• Brad is a fan on the confectionary item "red frogs" which he often consumes during the show.

Teams contesting the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Toll HSV Dealer Team	Holden Racing Team	Tasman Motorsport	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford Performance Racing	Jack Daniel's Racing
1 Rick Kelly 16 Garth Tander	2 Mark Skaife 22 Todd Kelly	3 Jason Richards 51 Greg Murphy	4 James Courtney 9 Russell Ingall	5 Mark Winterbottom 6 Steven Richards	7 Shane Price 11 Jack Perkins
WPS Racing	Team BOC	Dick Johnson Racing	Supercheap Auto Racing	Team Kiwi Racing	Britek Motorsport
8 Max Wilson 10 Jason Bargwanna	12 Andrew Jones 14 Brad Jones	17 Steven Johnson 18 Will Davison	20 Paul Dumbrell 50 Cameron McConville	021 Paul Radisich	25 Jason Bright 26 Alan Gurr
Garry Rogers Motorsport	Team Sirromet Wines	Autobarn Racing	TeamVodafone	Paul Cruickshank Racing
33 Lee Holdsworth 34 Dean Canto	39 Fabian Coulthard 67 Paul Morris	55 Steve Owen	88 Jamie Whincup 888 Craig Lowndes	111 John Bowe