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Important update on 1476AM‘Really competitive car’: Supercars team owner Brad Jones eyes more Toyota success
Savannah Lendich Jonkers • April 15th, 2026 2:20 pm
Brad Jones Racing is aiming to replicate the success of the history-making Toyota Supra win in Taupo last weekend by rival Ryan Wood, according to team owner Brad Jones.
Jones told Sport Nation’s Millsy & Guy on Tuesday the new Toyota GR Supras are “proving to be a really competitive car.”
BJR drivers Andre Heimgartner, Macauley Jones and Cameron Hill combine with Ryan Wood and Chaz Mostert of Walkinshaw TWG Racing to make up the five-car Toyota lineup.
During the off-season, BJR made the switch from Chevrolet Camaro while Walkinshaw TWG moved from Ford Mustang.
“Walkinshaw have been great to deal with and Toyota are a fantastic company to be involved with, they've been very engaged.” Jones said.
BJR has also seen other major team changes with downsizing from four cars, Cameron Hill moving to BJR from Matt Stone Racing as their new driver and changes in the engineer and mechanic sections.
“We're one of two teams (with Toyota), the cars are clearly fast, and Ryan Wood won on the weekend.”
Kiwi driver Ryan Wood secures Toyota's first Supercars win | Sport Nation
“We struggled a little bit with setup there. So hopefully we're going to get that under control this weekend and give Andre a really good chance to win the race.”
Jones explained the team are “chipping away” at the setup and he has hopes the team will be able to race hard and fast as they chase a win at Ruapuna this weekend.
BJR’s last race win was in Taupo of 2024 with Andre Heimgartner taking out Race 7, becoming just the fourth Kiwi to win a Supercars home race after Greg Murphy, Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen.
Matt Payne was the fifth driver added to the list after winning two races in Taupo last year, followed by Ryan Wood’s historic win last weekend.
With a large number of points still on offer for the Jason Richards memorial trophy, Andre Heimgartner sits 11th, Hill in 13th and Jones in 20th.
Jason Richards raced for Brad Jones from 2009-2010, before being forced to step down as a driver following announcement of his cancer diagnosis, however Richards still played a vital role in the team by completing car testing.
“He's very visible at our workshop. There's a couple of pictures of him around the place.
“This is an opportunity to not only come over here and try and win the trophy back that they've named after him, but also be able give a tip of the hat as we've done with our car 14.” Jones said.
Cam Hill’s No. 14 car livery is a tribute to Richards for the two New Zealand rounds, replicating the design of what his first supercar looked like.
“He's with us in spirit,” Jones added.
Another former BJR driver, Jason Bright became the inaugural and only BJR winner of the prestigious Jason Richards trophy in 2013.
With many of the drivers and team members including Jones have either never been or raced at Ruapuna, Jones said “Andre has been plenty.”
With the cancellation of Race 10 at Taupo due to extreme weather forecasts, it will now take place this Friday in Christchurch, limiting teams to only one practice on the new track.
And with adding a fourth race to this weekend’s event, Jones said strategy and qualifying will be very important.
Tune into Sport Nation for live commentary of the Supercars Championship in Christchurch (April 17, 18 & 19).
Listen to the full interview:
2026 Christchurch Super 440
Friday: Practice 1 - 1:55pm, Qualifying (Race 10) - 2:15, Race 10 - 4:35.
Saturday: Qualifying (Race 11) - 10:05am, Qualifying (Race 12) - 11:00am, Race 11 - 12:45pm, Race 12 - 4:10pm
Sunday: Qualifying (Race 13) - 11:50am, Top Ten Shoot Out - 12:45, Race 13 - 3:05pm
