Jason Bright
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Jason Bright (born March 7, 1973 in Moe, Victoria) is an Australian racing driver currently competing in the V8 Supercar series for Britek Motorsport, a team he also owns.
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[edit] Racing career
[edit] Australia
Bright started his motor racing career at the age of 15 in 1988 and won the Junior Club Championship at the Gippsland Go Kart Club. One year later, Bright won the Senior Club Championships.
In 1990, Bright was the runner-up in the Victorian Go Karting Championship and he went on to win the championship in 1991.
1992 saw Bright move into single-seaters and into the Victorian Formula Ford Championship and finished 4th and dovetailed this with another go-kart campaign, finishing 3rd overall in Australia.
Bright made his debut in the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 1993, in a factory Spectrum. In the season, he had a best finish of 6th at Symmons Plains, but in the Australian Formula Ford Festival at Winton, he finished 2nd. Bright finished 3rd in the 1994 Australian Formula Ford Championship, behind Steven Richards and Gavin Monaghan. He won the Formula Ford race supporting the Australian Grand Prix.
1995 was a fantastic season for Bright, winning the Australian Formula Ford Championship, winning the Australian Grand Prix support race and the Lexmark Indy 300 support race. He was also nominated for 2 major Australian awards.
He finished runner-up in the 1996 Formula Holden championship behind Paul Stokell, winning 3 races. But in 1997, Bright dominated that championship, winning 7 races and made his V8 Supercar debut at Symmons Plains, finishing 9th, but better was to come as he finished 3rd in the Bathurst 1000 with Alan Jones and Scott Pruett.
Bright and co-driver Steven Richards won the Bathurst 1000 in 1998, a result considered an upset since their car, a Ford Falcon, was an outdated EL model (which had been replaced in showrooms by the AU some months earlier).
In 1999, he had 6 podiums, including a win at Darwin and 3 poles. He also took part in the sportscar race at Adelaide to bring in 2000 and finished 3rd in class.
2001 saw Bright return to the V8 Supercar series after a stint in Champ Car competition (see below), with the multi-championship-winning Holden Racing Team. Bright won the season-opening Clipsal 500 and led for most of the 1st half of the season before fading to 3rd. 2002 was another good season at HRT, with 2 wins and a pole.
2003 saw Bright move to Team Brock and consistency was the key to get him 4th in the standings. 2004 saw Team Brock become Paul Weel Racing and Bright won 3 races finishing 3rd in the championship.
Bright crossed marques in 2005 when he moved to Ford Performance Racing and finished 9th overall.
Bright had an awful start to the 2006 season, finishing 15th and 25th in Adelaide. However he improved throughout the season, ending with a win at Sandown and the inaugural Desert 400 at the Bahrain International Circuit as well as podiums at Surfers Paradise and Symmons Plains.
[edit] Overseas
Bright's first taste of international competition was in 1996, a hectic year in which he raced in both the United States and Australia. He won two races in the US Formula Ford 2000 Championship, at St. Petersburg and Mosport, finished second in the championship behind Steve Knapp and was awarded Rookie of the Year.
In 2000, Bright left Australia to join the Indy Lights series in America, where he had 5 podium finishes and finished 6th in the standings. He also made his Champ Car debut at the Lexmark Indy 300 that year.
[edit] Britek Motorsport
Bright established his own V8 Supercar team, Britek Motorsport, in 2005. He was driving for Ford Performance Racing at the time and thus his team had restrictions on testing and driver licensing. The team is officially referred to as Fujitsu Racing, after their marquee sponsor.
Bright has announced he will drive for this team in 2007.
[edit] Personal life
Bright lives in Melbourne with his partner, Elysia.
| Preceded by Larry Perkins Russell Ingall |
Winner of the Bathurst 1000 1998 (with Steven Richards) |
Succeeded by Steven Richards Greg Murphy |
