Nine years later, Jones was lucky enough to fulfil his boyhood dream of driving a Mitsubishi Starion in the great race.

His race ended at the first corner when he was hit and spun off into the tyre barrier with the Starion being too badly damaged to continue.

It failed to dent his passion for the race however with the Albury driver going on to have 25 starts at Bathurst for 13 top-10 finishes – including three second placings.

2001 was by far his best chance of winning.

“The car was a jet,” Jones recalled.

“It was wet on and off during practice and qualifying so we weren’t able to show our true speed and ended up qualifying 21st.

“But the thing was a rocket in Sunday’s warm up.

“Kim (Jones) was on the radio saying slow down, but the car was just very fast.”

Jones was teamed with British touring car specialist John Cleland, and they slowly worked their way through the field during the first 140 laps to be in second place for the 21-lap run to the chequered flag.

The early 2000’s were dominated by the Holden Racing Team who had a big budget and factory backing.

The last 20 laps were a true David and Goliath fight to the death with the boys from Albury in their single car Ford team, chasing down eventual six-time winner Mark Skaife in his HRT Holden.

“I was catching Skaife pretty quickly,” Jones said.

“It was really just the two of us in the hunt for the win.

“In the last couple of laps I was only a few car lengths off him.

“We came up behind Paul Morris and Skaife got by him but I didn’t.

“It was just enough for him to get a gap on me and in the end I just couldn’t get him.

“He did an amazing job under huge pressure to keep the gap there.

“I threw everything at him but the kitchen sink - It seesawed a bit, but he got there first.”

The final margin between them was only two seconds.

HRT later disclosed that Skaife didn’t have enough fuel to do another lap.

Looking back 16 years later, Jones is grateful to have had the chance to be so close with many drivers failing to make the podium.

“It was a great day,” he said.

“It was a rewarding but frustrating experience.

“You don’t get to get on the podium that often, and it was the first time Kim and I had done that as team owners so it was still pretty special.

“It was bitter sweet – but second is a good result up there.”

Jones heads back to Bathurst this week, for the 41st time and the 17th time as a team owner.

In the seven years since he retired from racing in 2009, Jones’s cars have had five top-five finishes – a record which would make many team owners envious.

“All those things that have happened here over the years, both as a driver and a team owner, come into play on Sunday,” he said.

“There is nothing like having the wisdom from experience to help you make a good call under the type of pressure you get each year at Bathurst.”

BJR will have three cars on the grid for this year’s iconic race, with regular drivers Tim Slade, Nick Percat and Tim Blanchard pairing up with Ash Walsh, McCauley Jones and Todd Hazlewood.