BJR co-owner announces retirement

Brad Jones Racing co-owner Kim Jones has announced he will step back from the popular Albury-based Supercars team.

A cornerstone of BJR for four decades, Jones will hand over his share of the family business to brother Brad as he sets off into retirement.

Jones has been a significant member of the team often from behind the scenes, working hard with sponsors to drive its financial strength.  

Having been a force in the 1980s and ‘90s in AUSCAR and various other championships, the squad has transformed into a fixture on the Supercars grid.

It now runs six Supercars across three tiers: Four in the main game, plus one each in Super2 and Super3.

Nick Percat put BJR back on the top step of the podium at Supercars level this year for the first time since 2016, taking a pair of victories at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Jones took the opportunity to reflect on his journey as he prepares for his next chapter.

“Firstly, I would like to thank my wife and family for their ongoing support, at times it’s been very tough especially in the early days,” he said.

“There is no doubt that there have been many interesting and memorable times as well.

“It’s great that lots of people we have met through racing over the years have become good friends, the same goes for staff, who without them we would never have had the success we’ve had.

“Working with your brother for so many years has had its challenges but at the end of the day we made a great team and we have achieved far more than we could have ever imagined when we started.

“There have been lots of stages in my life so far; racing has been one of them and I’m looking forward to the next one relaxing and enjoying life.

“I would like to thank everyone for their support over the years and wish the team and Brad much success into the future.”

Brad heaped praise on his brother’s immense contribution.

“Kim has been semi-retired now for a number of years but it’s still a weird feeling coming into work and not having him around,” he said.

“We’re in different stages of our life and he’s looking to slow down which I respect.

“I’m very proud of the things that we’ve achieved together in motorsport, the championships we’ve won, the relationships with people we’ve developed and the partnerships that we have formed.

“When I reflect back to the start, it was only Kim and I with a couple of friends helping. We had an old green panel van to tow our race car on a borrowed trailer with very little money from a sponsor our father secured to get the job done.

“I always felt it was Kim and I against the world. The first seven Australian Championships we won like that, just the two of us. For many years we were an almost unbeatable combination at everything we raced.

“I look around at what we have built together and can’t help but think of how proud our father would be.”

BJR is tipped to carry an unchanged four-strong driver roster into the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship.