Running a four-car team in the Supercars Championship is a monumental task, requiring exceptional drivers and engineers and an unparalleled level of preparation and fabrication. By Joseph Lenthall.
Brad Jones Racing (BJR) is among the most respected teams in the Supercars Championship, Australia’s premier touring car racing series. Based in Albury, NSW, BJR was founded by brothers Brad and Kim Jones. They successfully competed in various racing series throughout the 1990s before entering the Supercars championship in 2000. Supercars is known for its high-intensity races and technical demands. In 2023, it introduced its current Generation 3 Chevrolet Camaros and Ford Mustangs.
These purpose-built race cars require thousands of bespoke parts and retain very little of their production models. Running a four-car team in this elite series, as BJR does, is a monumental challenge and requires over 50 full-time staff.
Managing four cars means preparing, maintaining, and sometimes wholly rebuilding them between race meetings, which requires extraordinary resources and precision. Running one car for the entire season will cost BJR around $2m if all goes well. The immense fabrication and engineering effort behind the scenes at BJR is critical to its success, and its partnership with Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse plays a pivotal role in enabling this.
Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse supplies BJR with a range of workshop equipment, and their collaboration with BJR ensures that the team has access to state-of-the-art machinery, service and support. At the heart of BJR’s operations are four CNC machines, including an advanced DN Solutions LYNX 2100LSYB – CNC Turning Centre and a VC630/5AX, 5-Axis Machining Centre. These DN Solutions machines allow BJR to produce complex and precise components in-house, which is crucial for their GEN 3 Camaros. The team manufactures over 630 parts for their Supercars, showcasing their ability to meet the high demands of Supercars racing. By producing components on-site, BJR reduces lead times, ensures total quality control, and when the rules allow, creates a competitive edge. With all the parts on hand, the team can assemble a complete race car in as little as five days. Starting from scratch, one car will take six weeks to build. Of course, this doesn’t include the thousands of hours of design beforehand.
The manufacturing team at BJR includes four full-time employees and three fabricators, led by Production Manager Danny Sims. Together, they utilise DN Solutions CNC Turning and Machining Centres and Bodor Laser machines, which provide precision cutting for intricate parts. The team boasts an impressive range of machinery, which includes a Bemato Surface grinder, Bekamak Metal Cutting Bandsaw, Metalmaster Guillotine, Metalmaster 28 series welding table, and an array of brackets jigs and fixtures. The Welding table is a crucial piece of equipment, allowing the team to build and repair several chassis and suspension components to exact measurements using pre-made jigs. Brad has released a series of short-form YouTube videos over the last couple of years, explaining a lot of mechanical, fabrication, and engineering aspects of the team. Check them out next time you’re surfing.
Beyond their cars, BJR also fabricates category-specific components for other Supercars teams, such as billet wheel nuts, wing supports, and bumper bar brackets. This additional production highlights the reliability and versatility of their tools and equipment.
The scale of operations at BJR’s workshop is staggering. After a race weekend, the cars will spend days travelling back to the Albury base from all over Australia. Once the team has unpacked the trucks, the race cars undergo a complete teardown and rebuild, with every part inspected, repaired, or replaced, as needed. The time spent in the workshop during the racing season is often limited, meaning components must be fabricated from scratch within tight timeframes. The precision and efficiency of the DN Solutions CNC machines and other Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse equipment ensure that BJR can meet these challenges head-on.
The partnership between BJR and Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse is not just about tools and equipment. For BJR, having reliable machinery at their disposal allows them to focus on what they do best: competing at the highest level of motorsport. For Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse, supporting a team like BJR demonstrates the capabilities of their products in one of the most demanding environments imaginable.
BJR’s dedication, resourcefulness, and innovation are a testament to the spirit of motorsport and the strength of a true partnership.