Bright start to CART career, but Bathurst glory awaits
19/10/2000 18:25 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - The Gold Coast Indy’s star attraction, CART debutant Jason Bright, spent yesterday acclimatising back into a V8 Supercar ahead of his DJR-backed Bathurst assault next month.
Jason Bright joined the Shell Helix outfit at Queensland Raceway for pre-Bathurst testing, just days after the young Queensland-residing racer launched himself on the international CART racing scene in dramatic fashion on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
Yesterday’s test marked the first time Bright had been behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar since Bathurst last year.
“It takes a bit of getting used to again because it moves around a lot and is a lot harder to pull up than an open wheeler,” Bright told Brisbane’s Courier Mail.
Driving for the Della Penna operation thanks to the backing of event organisers and the Queensland Government, Bright was robbed of a sterling debut result after becoming involuntarily tangled with Max Papis mid-way through the race. Bright was in fifth position at the time of the race-ending accident.
“That’s the harsh reality about Motorsport – you can go from hero to zero in not very long!” Bright told Channel Nine yesterday.
Nonetheless, Bright’s ability to adapt to the environment in such a short, interrupted time frame has many Indy teams keen to gain the signature of the 27-year-old.
Bright hopes to secure funding to drive for a top CART operation full-time next season.
The Bathurst champion of 1998 joins team-of-the-moment DJR for this year’s 1000km epic, where he will partner either Paul Radisich, Steven Johnson or Cameron McLean.
Bright realises the unique challenges involved compared with his Indy Lights mount this season.
“Especially being in November, the warmer temperatures and the cockpit temperatures are very high, it’s very hard on the equipment, and your dealing with a pretty wild old mountain there so it’s a bit of a battle between man and machine,” he said.
Bright returns to the United States on Monday for the final round of the Indy Lights Championship at California Speedway, before returning to Australia for further pre-Mountain testing.
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