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Jason Paul Bright(born 7 March 1973) is a retiredAustralianracing driverwho competed in theVirgin Australia Supercars Championship.He drove the No. 56Ford FG X FalconforBritek Motorsport,a satellite team ofProdrive Racing Australia,before retiring from full-time racing at the end of the2017.[1]
| Jason Bright | |
|---|---|
 Jason Bright at Hidden Valley in 2007 | |
| Nationality |  Australian |
| Born | 7 March 1973(age51) Moe, Victoria,Australia |
| Supercars Championshipcareer | |
| Championships | 0 |
| Races | 578 |
| Wins | 20 |
| Podiums | 88 |
| Pole positions | 17 |
| 24 Hours of Le Manscareer | |
| Years | 2013 |
| Teams | 8 Star Motorsports |
| Best finish | 38th |
| Class wins | 0 |
Racing career
editAustralia
editBright 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 VictorianFormula FordChampionship and finished fourth and dovetailed this with another go-kart campaign, finishing third overall in Australia.
Bright made his debut in theAustralian Formula Ford Championshipin 1993, in a factory-backed Spectrum. In the season, he had a best finish of sixth at Symmons Plains, but in the Australian Formula Ford Festival atWinton,he finished second. Bright finished third in the 1994 Australian Formula Ford Championship, behindSteven Richardsand Gavin Monaghan. He won the Formula Ford race supporting theAustralian Grand Prix.
1995 was a fantastic season for Bright, winning the Australian Formula Ford Championship, winning theAustralian Grand Prixsupport race and theLexmark Indy 300support race. He was also nominated for two major Australian awards.
He finished runner-up in the 1996Australian Drivers' Championshipbehind Paul Stokell, winning 3 races. But in 1997, Bright dominated that championship, winning seven races and made hisV8 Supercardebut atSymmons Plains,finishing ninth, but better was to come as he finished third in theSandown 500withAlan Jonesbut failed to capitalise at Bathurst a few weeks later, finishing eleventh.
In 1998, Bright became a full-time touring car driver, joiningStone Brothers Racing,showing considerable promise with several top six performances and a third place at Calder Park. He and co-driverSteven Richardswon the Bathurst Classic (the V8Supercar version of the Bathurst 1000 that year) coming back after Bright crashed heavily in practice and only being able to record a single flying lap in qualifying because of the extensive repairs.
In 1999, he had six podiums, including a win atHidden Valley Racewayand three pole positions. He also took part in the sportscar race atAdelaideto bring in 2000 and finished third in class.
2001 saw Bright return to theV8 Supercarseries after a stint inChamp Carcompetition (see below), with the multi-championship-winningHolden Racing Team.Bright won the season-openingClipsal 500and led for most of the first half of the season before fading to third. 2002 was another good season at HRT, with 2 wins and a pole.
2003 saw Bright move toPaul Weel Racingand consistency was the key to get him fourth in the standings. 2004 saw Bright win three races finishing third in the championship. Bright also won the2003Bathurst 24 Hourrace in aHolden Monarodriving with the latePeter Brock,Greg MurphyandTodd Kelly.This car was run by rivalV8 SupercarteamGarry Rogers Motorsport.
Bright crossed marques in 2005 when he moved toFord Performance Racing.Bright finished ninth overall for FPR.
Bright had an awful start to the 2006 season, finishing 15th and 25th inAdelaide.However he improved throughout the season, ending with a win at theSandown 500and the inauguralDesert 400at theBahrain International Circuitas well as podiums atSurfers Paradiseand Symmons Plains.
For 2007, Bright left FPR to join his struggling Britek Motorsport team and battled in the midfield. After two seasons with funds tightening, Bright leased out one of his two Racing Entitlement Contracts and focussed on just one car. Further to the team cutbacks, Bright came to an arrangement withStone Brothers Racingto do vehicle preparation and but most of his team equipment and workshop on the market, effectively shutting down Britek as a racing team. His form gradually improved at SBR and jumped forward when his older Britek BF Falcon was replaced with a SBR FG Falcon picking up a third at the Sydney 500 and leading the race, but by this stage Bright's major sponsor Fujitsu had announced they would be leaving the team.
Brad Jones Racingteam owner, Kim Jones confirmed that Bright will be joining the team for the 2010 season.[2]
Bright confirmed that he would re-joinProdrive Racing Australiaafter leaving BJR for the 2017Supercars Championshipseason, just 10 years after he left the team for Britek Motorsports, making him the fourth driver in the team.[3]
Overseas
editBright'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, atSt. PetersburgandMosport,finished second in the championship behindSteve Knappand was awarded Rookie of the Year.
In 2000, Bright left Australia to join theIndy Lightsseries in America, where with race engineer Gerald Tyler, had five podium finishes and finished sixth in the standings. He also made hisChamp Cardebut at theLexmark Indy 300that year.
In 2006, he drove forProdrivein anAston Martinat theSebring 12 Hourfinishing fourth.[4]2013 he made his debut at theLe mans 24 Hour racedriving for 8 Star Motorsports. They finished 10th in class.
Britek Motorsport
editBright established his own V8 Supercar team, Britek Motorsport, in 2005. He was driving forFord Performance Racingat the time and thus his team had restrictions on testing and driver licensing. The team is officially referred to asFujitsu Racing,after theirmarquee sponsor.Bright joined his own team in 2007. He nearly won the 2007 Bathurst 1000 but a bad tyre call in the pits left him hitting the wall at McPhillamy Park with 10 laps to go.
Britek also briefly ranFord Australiasentry in theAustralian Rally Championship,a pair ofSuper 2000Ford FiestasforMichael GuestandDarren Windus.
The team wound down after the 2008 season. The team's franchises remained live in 2009 with one leased out and Bright running the other as a Stone Brothers Racing customer team. At the end of 2009, the leased franchise was sold off toBrad Jones Racing.
Brad Jones Racing
editFor the 2010 season, Bright drove aHolden VE CommodoreforBrad Jones Racing.
Jason Bright's 2010 season was rather inconsistent, but a couple of good qualifying performances at the back half of the year, a 4th place at the2010 Bathurst 1000,and a podium finish at Symmons Plains, finishing behindPaul DumbrellandMark Winterbottomled to an overall result of 14th place in the championship. Race 8 in Perth saw Bright win Brad Jones Racing its first-ever V8 Supercars win. Bright followed this up with a win at Winton and was amongst the favourites to win the championship with a high of 4th in the championship standings. However, Bright's 2011 season faded away. Later in the season, Bright injured his ribs and missed 3 events as a result. His 2012 season was rather inconsistent, finishing 16th – for the second year in a row.
In 2013, with the introduction of the Car Of The Future rules,Brad Jones Racingsaw a dramatic change in performance in both Bright and teammateFabian Coulthard.Using the newHolden VF Commodore,the team saw back-to-back wins atTasmania,with Bright winning his first race sinceWinton 2011.Bright then went on to win Race 4 atPukekohe Raceway,which awarded him the inauguralJason Richards Memorial Trophy,for scoring the most points over the weekend; his famous celebration ended up in him busting a fluorescent light while jumping for joy. Bright's form thus far has been rather consistent, landing him with enough points to make the Top 10 in the 2013 championship. A stroke of bad luck, however, saw Bright not being able to compete in Race 1 atGold Coast,after Andrew Jones severely damaged the car during practice. However, they did manage to repair the car to such an extent that they competed in Race 2, where they managed to place 15th. Bright finished the 2013 Championship season in 7th place, one place below teammateFabian Coulthard.
Bright had a disastrous start to 2014, with a monumental crash in Race 3 at theClipsal 500giving him his first and only DNF for the season. Since then, Bright has been rather inconsistent, with only one podium finish; a win at theAuckland 500.
Career results
edit
Complete Supercars Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Bathurst 1000 results
edit| Year | Team | Car | Co-driver | Position | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Alan Jones Racing | Ford Falcon EL | Alan Jones Scott Pruett
|
11th | 153 |
| 1998 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford Falcon EL |  Steven Richards
|
1st | 161 |
| 1999 | Stone Brothers Racing | Ford Falcon AU | Craig Baird
|
DNF | 145 |
| 2000 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Falcon AU | Paul Radisich
|
2nd | 161 |
| 2001 | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore VX |  Tomas Mezera
|
DNF | 126 |
| 2002 | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore VX | Tomas Mezera
|
3rd | 161 |
| 2003 | Team Brock | Holden Commodore VX | Paul Weel
|
DNF | 44 |
| 2004 | Paul Weel Racing | Holden Commodore VY | Paul Weel
|
12th | 159 |
| 2005 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford Falcon BA | David Brabham
|
14th | 152 |
| 2006 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford Falcon BA | Mark Winterbottom
|
DNF | 28 |
| 2007 | Britek Motorsport | Ford Falcon BF | Adam Macrow
|
DNF | 149 |
| 2008 | Britek Motorsport | Ford Falcon BF | Adam Macrow
|
9th | 161 |
| 2009 | Britek Motorsport | Ford Falcon FG | Karl Reindler
|
11th | 161 |
| 2010 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VE | Matthew Halliday
|
4th | 161 |
| 2011 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VE | Andrew Jones
|
5th | 161 |
| 2012 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VE | Andrew Jones
|
21st | 153 |
| 2013 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Andrew Jones
|
5th | 161 |
| 2014 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Andrew Jones
|
14th | 158 |
| 2015 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Andrew Jones
|
7th | 161 |
| 2016 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Andrew Jones
|
DNF | 89 |
| 2017 | Britek Motorsport | Ford Falcon FG X | Garry Jacobson
|
8th | 161 |
| 2018 | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | Lee Holdsworth
|
21st | 157 |
American Open-Wheel
edit(key)
Indy Lights results
edit| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Dorricott Racing | LBH 2 |
MIL 2 |
DET 18 |
POR 1 |
MIC 9 |
CHI DNS |
ROA 3 |
VAN 14 |
LS 8 |
STL 3 |
HOU 16 |
FON 14 |
6th | 91 |
Champ Car
edit| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Della Penna Motorsports | MIA | LBH | RIO | MOT | NZR | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MIC | CHI | MDO | ROA | VAN | LS | STL | HOU | SRF 18 |
FON | 31st | 0 | [5] |
International GT Racing
editComplete American Le Mans Series results
edit(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 | PanozMotor Sports
|
LMP | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | Élan 6L86.0L V8 | SEB | CHA | SIL | NÜR | SON | MOS | TEX | ROS | PET | MON | LSV | ADE ovr:9 cls:3 |
36th | 24 |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
edit| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 |  8 Star Motorsports
|
LMGTE Am | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari4.5 L V8 | SIL | SPA | LMS 8 |
SÃO | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | 41st | 1 |
Bathurst 24 Hour results
edit
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Overall position |
Class position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Garry Rogers Motorsport
|
Peter BrockGreg MurphyTodd Kelly
|
Holden Monaro 427C | A | 527 | 1st | 1st |
12 Hours of Sebring results
edit| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Overall position |
Class position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 |  Aston Martin Racing
|
 Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy
|
Aston Martin DBR9 | GT1 | 337 | 4th | 2nd |
Bathurst 12 Hour results
edit| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Overall position |
Class position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Action Racing
|
Marcus Zukanovic Allan Simonsen
|
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 | I | 121 | 26th | 1st |
| 2013 | Team Peugeot RCZ
|
Stéphane CailletJulien Rueflin
|
Peugeot RCZ Cup | I1 | 214 | 23rd | 2nd |
| 2014 | skwirk.au
|
Warren LuffRod SalmonLiam Talbot
|
Audi R8 LMS Ultra | A | – | DNS | DNS |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Overall position |
Class position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 8 Star Motorsports
|
Enzo PotolicchioRui Águas
|
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | LMGTEAm | 294 | 37th | 10th |
References
edit- ^"Prodrive Racing Australia – News – BRIGHT START TO MEGA NEW DEAL".prodriveracing.au.Archived fromthe originalon 1 January 2017.Retrieved31 December2016.
- ^"Jason Bright confirmed at BJR".Speedcafe.Seventh Vision. 24 December 2009.Retrieved19 June2011.
- ^"Bright joins Prodrive".Speedcafe.Stefan Bartholomaeus ©. 5 December 2016.Retrieved6 December2016.
- ^[1]Sebring 12 Hour results 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2011 from Motorsport
- ^"Jason Bright – 2000 CART Results".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.Retrieved15 August2023.