BJR Take Ford Honours at Bathurst
8/10/2004 22:23 (Press Release) -
The Brad Jones Racing duo of John Bowe and Brad Jones have once again proved their dominance at Mt Panorama during opening practice today of the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst.
The combination of Bowe’s and Jones’ practice times over the three sessions have placed them as the second fastest car overall and first of the Ford teams.
BJR can also take claim as the fastest team outfit with the second of the OzEmail Falcon’s piloted by Andrew Jones and John Cleland inside the top ten at the end of the day and setting up a promising result for the Albury based team.
Brad Jones was fastest in the co-driver session this afternoon and is excited about the number 12 OzEmail Falcon’s prospects – “It was great to come out of the last session on top and also being the only car in the 2 minute 9 second bracket. John [Bowe] and I are just 3 tenths of a second apart which makes us a really strong pairing. The car feels good but we still have some work to do to get it right.”
John Bowe has been here before. After being on the front row for the last two years, he knows what it’s like to be fast in the early practice sessions, so he’s not getting carried away – “The car is a little nervous for my liking which I suspect is a lack of aero at the rear. It’s not good enough yet but we’ll work on getting it better.”
Andrew Jones has dual responsibilities this weekend. Not only will he take on the lead driver role in the white OzEmail Falcon but as the reigning Konica Minolta V8 Supercar champion, he is out to continue his domination of the series by competing in the 25 lap support race in the Team BOC Falcon.
Andrew was third fastest in the opening practice for the Konica Minolta Series cars and backed that up with top ten placing in the main series session - “I was really happy with the way today went. The OzEmail Falcon felt really good and was great to drive. We still need to be pushing ourselves and the car but it’s a solid start.”
Scottish international John Cleland, in his 11th start at Bathurst was right at home, setting the 4th fastest time in his co-drivers session this afternoon – “I’m really pleased. There was just 3 one hundreds of a second between Andrew [Jones] and I and my times were considerably faster than they were last year. The OzEmail Falcon feels good and will be a potent race car.”
In further team news, camera giant Nikon has signed on with BJR for the remainder of 2004. Taking out signage on the rear of both team Falcon’s, Alistair Robins, Nikon Product Marketing Manager for Consumer Digital & Sports Optics believes V8 Supercars and BJR are a great match - "Nikon is a great fit for BJR and motor sports in general. Go to any major race meet and you'll see literally dozens of pros working with action-stopping Nikon professional digital SLRs and lenses in the press areas."
"Our enthusiast cameras and our sports binoculars have long been popular with discerning race fans for their rugged, advanced technology and Nikon's renowned optical quality," noted Mr Robins.
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