JASON Bright’s return to Prodrive Racing Australia for the 2017 Supercars season has been officially confirmed.
The 43-year-old will return to the team he led in 2005-06, set to drive a No. 56 Ford backed by petroleum supply company MEGA Limited.
“I am really excited about the opportunity for 2017,” Bright said.
“PRA have been very successful in the last few years with plenty of race wins, two Bathurst titles and a championship so I am looking forward to stepping back into one of their cars and seeing how we go. I feel like we can be competitive.”
Bright will add an injection of vast experience that was missing in Prodrive’s 2016 line-up, joining Mark Winterbottom, Chaz Mostert and sophomore Cam Waters.
“It is great to have Jason back at the team and we are all looking forward to having him back racing our cars and continuing the success we shared all those years ago,” Prodrive team principal Tim Edwards said.
“There is actually a lot of staff that he worked with in 05/06 that are still part of the team so there is a degree of familiarity which will help too, plus he will bring a lot of knowledge and be a great sounding board for Chaz (Mostert) and Cam (Waters) which will be a big benefit.”
A new sponsor to the series, Prodrive’s announcement hails MEGA Limited’s sponsorship as a “long-term” sponsorship.
“We are very proud to be introducing a new naming-rights level brand to our team and the Supercars sport as a whole,” Nash said.
“MEGA Limited is a great local success story and to have them believe in our product so strongly is a real credit to our team’s performances on and off the track.
“It is also a byproduct of the recent efforts of (Supercars CEO) James Warburton and his team to boost the profile of the championship so we look forward to assisting them to grow their profile through the sport.”
The confirmation of Bright’s deal leaves just three seats yet to be filled on the 2017 grid: two at Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, and the final seat at Garry Rogers Motorsport which has been strongly linked to former Walkinshaw Racing mainstay Garth Tander.
