It's Official - Jason Bright to Holden Racing Team

They announced it on the Channel 10 news tonight. Right after stories on Cricket, Tennis, Football (which is in off season !), Boxing...right at the very end of everything - why don't Channel 10 give their very own Sport front billing the fools ?

Anyway, Jason Bright has signed on to drive for HRT next year. They didn't say how long the deal was for but Brighty just said he has put his overseas aspirations on hold.

Does anyone think this is an incredibly bad move for a guy just getting his foot in the door of an Indy Car career ?

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason Bright in a HoldAggg, I just cant say it.

Yes buck shot matey, I believe Jason has made the worst decion of his INTERNATIONAL career.

Oh well, I suppose you can only do what you can afford.

Yeah that's one of the reasons I started this thread - maybe one of the regular readers may know the reason why he has made this choice.

Might he have had a lot of trouble getting sponsors ? This just makes the efforts to get him in an Indy Car for the Gold Coast a waste of everybodies time & money.

Easily the most stupid move i have seen by Jason. Next year he is going to be what 28 i think and if he gets another chance it could be another year or two ahead.
And is he has signed a multi year contract he may have trouble getting out of it if a drive in Champ cars came up.

I still cant believe it.

i would have to say it is a very silly move. He has basically wasted a year in the US. May be he didnt have the money for aseason of indycar but he probably would have been better off staying in the us and maybee picking up the odd drive here or there and trying to impress some more people.
But it will be great to see him back next year it is just unfortunate it has to be with that team and driving a holdddddddd(cant say the rest) :( :( :( :( :( :( .He should give skaife the big hurry up though.
If only he was back in a ford :)

Why is this such a bad move?

He wasn't going to spend another year in Indy Lites as that would be a waste, and was hanging out to get a drive for Coyne (as just about all of the available seats in Cart had folded/been filled/moved on/out of his price range) but it was not forthcoming. Maybe if some Australian (or American for the matter) companies got behind Jason he would be in Cart next season.

So what are his choices for next season? Sit out the year in the hope of securing an odd drive in America, which probably wouldn't happen. Or take a well paid drive with the best touring car team in the land.

I'd say it is pretty easy, plus he most likely will get his drive at the Gold Coast anyways...

From memory the Gold Coast deal was 3 years, I wonder if that means anything now.

I dont see how a second year in indy lites would have been a waste..he could have put all his learning from year one into practise with the same team and same engineers and gone out and blitzed the series and possible get more chances of testing a champcar..but on the other hand lining up with the HOLDEN (I dont have a problem saying it :)) racing team is probably the best move to make when coming home and I do think and hope he does give Skaife the hurry up not just for the good racing it will provide but for the fact that if he wants do go back overseas then he has to do well next year otherwise he can forget it..

another interesting thing is now that Mark Noske is not driving the Panoz at Adelaide does anyone think Jason might step up to the plate and have a go ..if Lowndes contract doesnt finish until midnight surely jason's doesnt start until midnight ???

I would have rather seen him stay in the US and give it his all..but i guess he knows what he is doing and good luck to him.
yes i think the gold coast deal was for 3 years and as far as I can tell he will still be trying to line up there agin in 2001..only time will tell and only if Jeff Crech lets him of course.

Bright will drive the Panoz, and has been to Florida to test acording to his internet site.
He's driving with Greg Murphy

Two years in Indy lites a waste?,perhaps you should ask Scott Dixon his opinion of that,he has now gone on to Champ cars,and i'm sure if Jason had performed well the next season he could have done the same.

The problem is that whilst he was holding out for the Champ car drive, he missed the ship with regards to the Lites drive, as they were fully signed up. So it was either sitting out a year and hope, or join HRT...

I'm reminded of the early to mid '70s when Peter Brock was desperate to make itoverseas as an open wheeler driver. He was succesful in Formula 2 but doing it all out of his own pocket just got to hard. HDT offered him wads of cash to come and drive for him and it was just too good to knock back. The rest is history, his OS open wheeler ambitions ended right there, he just didn't realise it till many years later. This is in fact the greatest regret of a man who has very few.

jason is my favorite v8 supercar driver (pirtek ford rocked! :( )....i was never a fan of hrt, they bore me to death - 2001 i hope bright wins the title, it is just a pity that hrt will have to win the title for the 4th straight year :(

gomick I agree, the only down side is the tem he is with but for Jason at least he can say they are acompetitive lot. But we need all the hot shoe Ford drivers we can get, from this perspective is it good for the sport I think not.