BRAD Jones has moved on from his “divorce” with Fabian Coulthard and is eyeing a hot start to the V8 Supercar season.
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Tim Slade will slot into the Freightliner Holden after Coulthard’s switch to DJR Team Penske and Jones said he was excited for the year ahead.
Coulthard finished seventh in the drivers championship last year while BJR finished fourth in the team standings after a strong start to the season.
“Last season was pretty good for us, we certainly started with a flurry and we ran in the top three of the championship for a long time,” he said.
“With Fabian going, all the discussion about contracts, I think, didn’t help at all.
“Even though everyone was trying their very best to get the best result, it’s like going through a divorce so it’s not always pleasant.
“That being said, Tim Slade, who’s going to be in our Freightliner car, has been down and he seems to fit in really well.
“I’m really excited to see how he goes. He’s finished fifth in the championship before but has had a couple of tough years so he’s hungry for success.”
Jason Bright, who finished 16th in the drivers standings, will remain in the Team BOC Holden while Tim Blanchard replaces Dale Wood in the Team CoolDrive car.
The season-opening Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on March 6 will be BJR’s 500th start in the V8 Supercars.
“Adelaide is a funny place for us, we either go really good or really bad. Last year Fabian won there and the year before Brighty rolled and wrote the car off,” he said.
“It’s a tough event but for me, I’d be pretty happy to get out of there with our three blokes in or around the top 10.”
Jones said the team was eagerly awaiting its first testing of the season on February 22 when Winton hosts the annual media day.
“It will be a big day. It’s our first hit-out and we don’t really get any testing during the year because all our work is done at race meetings,” he said.
“Having a day where we can get used to the driver and the team is really important.
“It’s pretty handy that it’s only an hour down the way. It’s a great little circuit, it’s our home track, and the people there are fantastic.”
BJR is the only team to field cars in all three national V8 Touring Car categories - V8 Supercars, Dunlop Series and Kuhmo Series, which is a new entry for the team.
“It’s an opportunity for us to bring a young driver through that process,” he said.
“They can start at that level and then ultimately, hopefully we can bring them up.”