Bright: I gave up my US dream for HRT
14/12/2000 13:28 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - The Holden Racing Team is the only V8 Supercar team Jason Bright would have considered giving up his Indy dream for, the recently-recruited HRT driver said today.
Skaife shows Bright what all the switches do on the HRT Commodore. Bright's first start in V8Supercar was in a Holden in May 1997
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"It was a big decision to return to Australia but the HRT drive was the only one I'd come back for; it's the only team I'd give up the USA dream for," Bright said.
The 27-year-old was today officially named as Craig Lowndes’ replacement at the Factory-backed operation. He will campaign the number two Commodore alongside Shell Series Champion Mark Skaife next year.
Bright revealed he had the opportunity to remain in America and pursue a full-time CART drive, but elected to return to his homeland and run with the country’s foremost Supercar team.
It is a decision Bright doesn’t see as settling for second best.
“I had the chance of remaining in the States and being an Indy Car 'super-sub' – that is, being available to drive for other teams at short notice,” Bright explained.
"It's not very often a door like this opens and now I have to make the most of the opportunity,” he said.
Bright campaigned an Indy Lights car in America this year, finishing sixth in the Championship. He also made his CART Series debut in front of a home crowd at Surfers Paradise, performing admirably before being knocked-out of competition.
For now, Bright will put his Indy aspirations on-hold to concentrate on his third full-time Supercar season. And expectations are high.
"It'll no doubt take me a while to get back in the V8 Supercar groove, but I'm fortunate that the Holden Racing Team's database is so good. With that and a reasonable amount of pre-season testing, I'd expect to be on the pace by the first round of the Championship,” the ’98 Bathurst champ predicted.
"I did pretty well in the category in 1998 and '99, so with this team and with a three-time champion in Mark Skaife alongside me, the opportunity is there for me to do better,” he said.
Victorian-born Bright, a former resident of the Gold Coast, will base himself in Melbourne in the New Year.
Before taking the reigns of the red and white Commodore, Bright will share a Panoz prototype machine with Supercar rival Greg Murphy in Adelaide’s leg of the American Le Mans Series. Ironically, the man he replaces at HRT, Craig Lowndes, was originally named in the Panoz squad.
Both Bright and Murphy recently tested with the outfit in the United States in preparation for the six-hour New Year’s Eve event.
While the Holden Racing Team’s 2001 line-up is now settled, plans for the Young Lion “sister” car are yet to be revealed. It is believed Todd Kelly, a favourite to replace Lowndes, will retain his place in the youth development program.
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