News: Supercheap Autos Bathurst 1000

See all the latest practice, qualifying and race results from Mount Panorama at Natsoft

Yet Another Spectacle at the Mountain.

There it was.....gone.

Once again, the Bathurst 1000 brought excitement and incident to the infamous Mount Panorama circuit.

I won't go into great details of the race as a whole as the story is available elsewhere to read. My job here is to impart the details of the Brede, Cleland car... and I can tell you, all is well.

John and Dale Brede accomplished an amazing 7th place finish by keeping out of trouble and making sure they were there at the end to pick up the pieces.

The Great Race is all about making sure your car is still in one piece and running with 20 laps to go and the race will hand out it's own rewards, something many of the experienced pilots forgot this weekend.

Below are the media releases ( most recent first) from Brad Jones Racing, which clearly tells how a very dark cloud gradually developed a silver lining.

All images on this page courtesy of Brad Jones Racing.

Team BOC 9th October 2005:

Jones Outed From Bathurst On First Lap and a happy J.C.

It was a visibly emotional Brad Jones who had to concede, just two minutes into the 2005 Bathurst 1000, that his race was over.

Having passed eight cars on the opening lap, the Team BOC driver was the innocent victim of foolish driving ahead of him.  Exiting the last corner to complete his first race lap of 2005 he careered into a number of cars that had spun in front of him.

Over the radio, Jones confirmed the worst nightmare for the team “It’s over guys, the race is over.”

Limping the car back to the pit garage, TV cameras caught last year’s podium finisher physically upset from the devastating blow to not only him but his entire hardworking team. 

“There’s so much that goes into a Bathurst campaign, physically, financially and emotionally.  When you don’t even get to complete a single lap, it’s very difficult to accept and comprehend.”

“There are thirty odd guys here that have worked their butts off since Wednesday and to have this happen is not fair on them.  It’s just unbelievable, unbelievable,” Jones said.

Having lost 100 minutes in the pits repairing the damage, the #21 Team BOC machine was sent back out to finish the race.  With nothing to lose, both Jones and John Bowe circulated with lap times that would have put them well inside the top ten, in the end finishing in 21^st position.

It was a philosophical John Bowe that added – “I told the guys that we should never have taken pit garage 13.  I’ve never been overly superstitious but when I saw the big number 13 painted on our garage door, I did have one of those weird feelings.”

For Canberra’s Dale Brede and Scotland’s John Cleland, it was a completely different story.  Brilliant drives by the duo in the #12 Team BOC have netted a fantastic 7^th place finish.  A result that was a credit to the resilience of the two drivers.

“It just shows what perseverance and a great team mate can do,” said Brede who was hit from behind during the middle stages and ended up in a sand trap.

“We started the race from pit lane to avoid the first lap antics, so we have come from last to seventh, including a trip into a sand trap,” a jubilant Brede added.

It was an ecstatic John Cleland that added – “It was a great result for the whole team.  It’s been a week of ups and downs and to finish inside the top seven is just fantastic.”

“When you consider we missed two practice sessions after the accident on Thursday and were forced to go straight into qualifying, it’s a massive effort.  A huge thanks to Team BOC and all the sponsors,” Cleland concluded.

Team BOC 8th October 2005:

Improvements Provide Some Team BOC Confidence

After a few trying days at Mount Panorama, this morning’s final practice session has breathed some life into the Team BOC Camp.

Working feverishly overnight, the engineering crew have started to chip away at the problems that have seen the #21 Team BOC Falcon duo of Brad Jones and John Bowe struggle to maintain their recent outstanding form at Bathurst.

“Both Brad and I are definitely more comfortable with our car this morning.  We finally have something that we can work with,” said John Bowe.

“We spent the practice session turning and tuning the Team BOC Falcon into a race car.  If we can get back on top of things in the next 24 hours, we will still be in for a strong chance tomorrow.

Brad Jones also reported some improvements – “It’s [the race car] definitely better through all the slow stuff [parts of the circuit].

“We have to forget about the fact we didn’t qualify well and get back to job of being competitive tomorrow.  If we have a race car that’s fast, starting back in 26^th position has no real negative impact.”

“Over the 1,000kms race distance, starting 400 metres further down the track is insignificant,” Jones added.

It was a similar story in the #12 Team BOC camp with slow progress being made.  The situation best summed up by John Cleland – “We are tickling the improvements rather than taking chunks.”

Dale Brede was back in the driver’s seat for the first time this morning since his accident on Thursday.  Whilst unhurt in the incident, he admitted to still being a little nervous.

“I didn’t get that much time in the car this morning but it was great to be back driving.  I took the first couple of laps to get my confidence back but after that I felt good,” said Brede.

“I think it’s human to be a little apprehensive when you have to revisit something like a crash but once you’ve dealt with it, it’s a matter of getting on with things.”

Commenting on his time inside the #12 car, Brede added - “We’re lacking track time with development and that’s obvious with the way the car feels but I really feel we can still be a top ten contender tomorrow."

Team BOC  7th October 2005:

Rain Ruins Team BOC Qualifying

A rain shower half way through today’s qualifying session at the Super Cheap Auto 1000 has had a catastrophic effect on both of the Team BOC Falcon’s.  In very unfamiliar Bathurst territory, Brad Jones and John Bowe will start Sunday’s 1000km race from 26^th position.

With the team struggling for a setup balance, they had planned to use the entire session to bring the two cars up to speed but the rain hindered any chance of improving their results.  John Bowe had just stepped into the #21 Team BOC Falcon when the skies opened, after Brad Jones had started the qualifying period.

“I was really struggling with understeer and overall grip when I was in the car and on the fast stuff at the top of the mountain it was very nervous,” said Brad Jones.

“It’s really disappointing, I think it is my worst ever qualifying position at Bathurst,” Jones added.

Team mate and Bathurst qualifying master, John Bowe was equally shattered – “To be honest we are very confused.  I think we have tried just about everything to get our Team BOC Falcon balanced better but absolutely nothing has worked.”

“Our plan was to give Brad half the session to sort out the car then I would get in for the last half and see if we could get into the top ten for the shootout.  As soon as I sat down, the rain started and I didn’t get even one lap in.”

“We have to focus on the fact it’s a long race and as Brad proved in 2001, you can be this far back and still end up on the podium,” Bowe concluded.

Working on the same strategy, the second Team BOC Falcon of John Cleland and Dale Brede were also caught out with the shower and will start two cars back in 28^th.

The race car, that required a superhuman effort by the team to even make the grid for qualifying after yesterday’s accident at Forest Elbow, was severely short of track time.

“The guys have done a fantastic job to get the Team BOC Falcon ready for qualifying.  The panel beating was finished at 5am this morning and then all the suspension and drive train needed to be fitted.  Half of dozen of them haven’t slept yet,” said John Cleland.

“It virtually back to the same race car that rolled out of the transporter yesterday but obviously we have missed a number of crucial sessions to get ourselves and the car fine tuned.”

“There is something missing [with the Team BOC Falcon] though.  We are scratching our heads like the guys in car #21,” Cleland concluded.

Team BOC 6th October 2005:

Doubt Over Team BOC Falcon After Major Crash

The Team BOC Falcon of Dale Brede and John Cleland may be forced to withdraw from the Super Cheap Auto 1000 after a severe crash during today’s opening practice session.

With the luckless Brede at the wheel, the #21 Team BOC Ford clipped the inside wall at Forest Elbow, careering the car across the apex of the corner and head first into a tyre barrier, causing major structural damage to the right hand front section.

“We were struggling with the car for most of the session before the accident happen.  I was trying to get more and more from it and as I was pushing hard, I just touched the inside of the corner at Forest Elbow,” said Brede.

“The touch was enough to totally unsettle the cornering of the car and I ended up going straight ahead into the outside wall.”

“I knew straight away that it was a decent hit but when you are sitting in the car all you hope for that the damage is less than you think it is.  Unfortunately this time it wasn’t,” Brede added.

Team Manager, Kim Jones has thrown his support totally behind Brede – “There are two things that Dale [Brede] deserves our respect for.  Firstly he was brave enough to admit and deal with the fact it was a misjudgement, there are many drivers that wouldn’t show the same sort of courage.  Secondly, he was trying his guts out at the time and you can never be critical of that.”

“This [Mt Panorama] is one of the most unforgiving circuits in the world.  The same sort of mistake would go unscathed at 90% of other race tracks,” Jones concluded.

Team BOC originally assessed the #12 Falcon and decided that the repair job was too large to complete in the team garage.  Late this afternoon, the car was transferred to the highly experienced Smash Repair Team who will further gauge the situation overnight.

Team BOC are expected to make an announcement early tomorrow morning on whether it will be a one or two car assault on Bathurst this year.

It was better news for the lead Team BOC Falcon of John Bowe and Brad Jones but their day wasn’t without incident.  Brad Jones had a hairy moment early on in the session and both drivers were not happy with the balance of the #21 Falcon.  The pair were positioned 18^th fastest after today’s action.

Team BOC 10th August 2005: Team BOC have today announced their enduro line up for the upcoming Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 events. With former British touring car champ and Scottish driver John Cleland confirmed to join Dale Brede in one of the two Team BOC Falcons, the records for the longest serving international competitor have been sent tumbling.

By coming back to Australia in 2005 for his 11th attempt at The Mountain and Sandown, Cleland breaks all previous records held by his overseas counterparts, not including regular New Zealand drivers competing in the category on a regular basis.

“It will be great to be back and it’s hard to believe it’s my 11th time,” said Cleland from his southern Scottish Jaguar and Volvo Dealership.

“This will be my fifth time with BJR [Brad Jones Racing] and over the years we have built up a fantastic relationship and I’m glad they have invited me back for another chance.”

“I’ve had the chance to race with a number of teams over the last 11 years and these guys are easily the best outfit I’ve been involved with,” he added.

Cleland, who finished second at Bathurst with team boss Brad Jones in 2001 in what still rates as one of the closest Mountain finishes in history, is still as hungry as ever and the decision to use Dale Brede has his total support.

“It’s a great choice. I have seen Dale’s ability over the years at Bathurst and have kept on eye on him the Development Series this year. He has enormous talent and from what I’ve heard, he is a natural at not being too hard on his race cars.”

“I also wouldn’t be making the trip over [to Australia] if I didn’t think the car and driver package was capable of finishing on the podium. I have total faith that Dale and I can be right up there mixing it with the guys at the front,” Cleland concluded.

Team Principal Brad Jones added further – “John [Cleland] has proven that he is possibly the only European based driver to prove himself in V8 Supercars and the endurance races. Year after year, he has done exactly the right job. He is phenomenally talented and we’re delighted that he is coming back to race for us.”

The #21 Team BOC Falcon will again be driven by the pairing that finished on the podium at last year’s Bathurst 1000, Brad Jones and John Bowe.

“Brad [Jones] and I are one of the best combinations in V8 Supercars, so there was never going to be any change to that. Dale’s appointment is great for the team and it’s pleasing because I’m a big fan of his. He is a very capable driver with a very mature head on his shoulders,” said Bowe.

Thanks to BJR Media