The recent decision to make the annual Sandown 500 a 'retro round' in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship has seen many famous racing liveries from Aussie folklore brought back to life. But, often it's the stuff that we once forgot that makes a bigger impression.
Brad Jones Racing have long been good at channeling the latter, with Tim Blanchard's spectacular Benson & Hedges–inspired livery winning plenty of fans in last year's 500. And, for this year's event, the team are at it again.
This newly unveiled livery for the car shared between Macauley Jones and Dean Canto is the first of at least two retro liveries the team are set to run. And while it doesn't replicate a famed Bathurst winner or championship winner, those who followed the sport in the early 2000s will no doubt still get a kick out of it.
The livery is a sharp, accurate rendition of Brad Jones Racing'sFit first livery from when it joined the series at the turn of the millennium — backed by the now defunct OzEmail provider. Cooldrive even swapped around their corporate colours, just to fit the design better. Classy.
“It’s very exciting to see this design come to life again after all these years,” said Brad Jones. “The white design with Jones on the window certainly rolls the clock back for me and I’m very proud to have Macca driving ‘my car’ with our team.”
“We are all about family and relationships at CoolDrive," added team owner Blanchard. "So being able to have Macca pay homage to Brad is a memorable gesture we support, and one I can personally relate to.”
Those early years were tough for BJR. Many expected big things early, given the success the team had experienced in AUSCAR and in the Australian Super Touring Championship. But instead the first few years were a struggle.
Still, there were obvious highlights, and those inevitable stories of being giant killers in the paddock helped set up the team's ongoing legacy. Bathurst 2001's second-place finish, where Jones chased down Mark Skaife in the dying laps, was a great tale of an ordinarily midfield car giving the most fancied combination in the series an almighty fright. The following year, they almost won it save for the failure of a $2 part.
Fittingly the livery will be worn by Brad Jones' son Macauley, who himself has faced a challenging rookie full-time season. Still, with the experience of Canto alongside him, a Sandown surprise isn't out of the question.