Jason Bright finished a respectable 11th in the 2014 V8 Supercar championship after a mixed year which included three pole positions, a race win at the Auckland ITM 500 and an unfortunately spectacular roll over at the Clipsal 500 that made highlight reels across the country.
After a huge schedule of racing and corporate activities during the 2014 season Jason took some time off over the Christmas break to relax and recharge. Rare Spares recently sat down with Jason to talk about his time off and what is in store for the 2015 season.
How would you sum up your 2014 season overall?
I thought at times we showed our potential but we had a bit of a slump from Townsville through to Phillip Island that you cannot afford to have with the closeness of the competition these days.
How tiring is a full season of travelling around the country, testing and 17 rounds across Australia and NZ plus your other sponsor and team commitments?
It is a long year for sure but I have learnt over the years to make the most of the gaps in between each round or when there is a quiet period. Our meetings and associated appearances seem to come in bursts at different periods of the year and when it gets bust it gets very busy!
How much time do you officially get off from your job?
I think we are pretty lucky, when we get a break it is usually a good couple of weeks and you get to do things with the family and get away. Having said that, you never stop thinking about how to get more out of the car or the team and they are always only a phone call away.
How have you spent your break this Christmas?
We managed to get away for one week after Christmas for a family holiday but the rest has been spent working on my new trade and service franchise Taskforce.
Is it a clean break? Do you still think about driving and the season to come?
Yes for sure you do, you are always thinking about what you could have done better or improved upon.
What does the first day back at work look like for you for season 2015?
We have a pre-brief before the first test of the year to go through all of the changes that have been made in the off season and build a plan for the first test.
And are you confident about your 2015 prospects?
Yes. I believe that we finished the year very strong and can put the slump mid season last year behind us and that we have a good direction for this year. We have had some engineering changes which I think as a team will help us work together much better which is probably an area we haven’t maximised previously.
