Drivers deliver safety message

Local V8 Supercar Drivers Deliver Important Road Safety Message

Local Albury V8 Supercar drivers Brad Jones and Andrew Jones visited Thurgoona Public School today, located in the outer suburbs of Albury, to deliver the important message of road safety to school children as part of the 2004 Wright Patton Shakespeare Safety Car Program.

The program visits schools around Australia to give the younger generation a taste of the power, energy and excitement that is involved with V8 Supercars - and who better than to provide school children with this information than an experienced V8 Supercar driver.

Brad Jones, who is currently sitting 24th in the V8 Supercar Championship after a rain-marred second round at Eastern Creek International Raceway last weekend, has recently been announced as the Ambassador for prominent local business, the SS&A Club in a move that will see the nine times Australian champion work more closely with the sporting and general community in the Border region.

"I'm really excited to have been chosen by the SS&A Club as their Ambassador and it's something that I'm looking forward to being a part of for a number of years," said Brad Jones.

"I've been looking at ways that I could give back to the community that has given me so much support since I started my motorsport career and this works just perfectly. My role as an SS&A Club Ambassador will involve working with the club's affiliated sporting clubs, schools, the youth and of course the club's large membership base," Jones added.

The new appointment will see Brad visit schools around the area to promote V8 Supercars, to give the community an insight to what is involved with operating a V8 Supercar team and also to reinforce the message of road safety to younger members of the community.

"These days it is imperative that children are aware of how important it is to follow rules on the road, be it crossing a busy street or riding a bike," Brad Jones said.

"School Programs like these are a great way for children to get first hand knowledge about various road safety issues, and especially coming from people who are involved in motorsport they can really understand how following basic safety rules are a very important part of everyday life."

Thurgoona Public School Principal Mike Waters welcomed the Wright Patton Shakespeare Schools Program to the school and said it was a fantastic way of alerting children to the importance of road safety.

"The program allows children to get hands on with various aspects of V8 Supercar racing including looking at real V8 Supercar tyres as well as the Safety Cars that operate at every V8 Supercar event," Mr Waters said.

"With the message of road safety coming directly from an experienced V8 Supercar personality it shows the children that road safety has to be followed everywhere, including around school areas as well as on a race track."

Andrew Jones, a seasoned performer in the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series and nephew of Brad, is coming off a major sponsorship announcement for the Brad Jones Racing team with BOC announcing they will support the teams Konica Minolta car for this season.

Andrew is currently preparing for the upcoming third round of the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series, which will be held at the team's home track at Winton Motor Raceway on April 17-18, and a round that he will be looking to stamp his authority on after winning the same event last year.

"I am really looking forward to the next Konica Minolta round at Winton," Andrew said. "With Winton being our home track and coming off the round win there last year, hopefully everything will swing our way and we can repeat the win again."

The 2004 Wright Patton Shakespeare Safety Car Program visit includes the display of AVESCO's state-of-the-art B-Double Transporter as well as the two Wright Patton Shakespeare Safety Cars that operate as the official Safety Car and Course Car for both the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series.

-avesco-