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Jason Richards

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Jason Richards
NationalityNew Zealand
Born(1976-04-10)10 April 1976
Nelson, New Zealand
Died15 December 2011(2011-12-15) (aged 35)
Melbourne, Victoria
Retired2011
V8 Supercar Championship Series
Years active2000–2010
TeamsTeam Kiwi Racing
Team Dynamik
Tasman Motorsport
Brad Jones Racing
Starts131
Wins1
Poles2
Fastest laps1
Best finish14th in 2004, 2007 & 2009
Previous series
1985–93
1994
1995
1995

1995–2000

2011
2011
Karts
New Zealand Mini 7's
New Zealand Formula Ford
British Formula Ford Championship
New Zealand Touring Car Championship
Australian GT Championship
Development V8 Supercar
Championship titles
1998/99,1999/00, 2000/01New Zealand Touring Car Championship

Jason John Richards (10 April 1976 – 15 December 2011) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. A multiple championship winning driver in his homeland in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship, he moved to Australia to pursue a career in the Australian-based V8 Supercar Championship Series. Richards career highlights include finishing second three times in V8 Supercar's most famous race, the Bathurst 1000. Richards died at the age of 35, just over a year after being diagnosed with cancer.[1]

Early career

[edit]

Richards started his motor racing career at the age of eight in 1985, driving in karting events in his home country of New Zealand. He made his move out of karting in 1993 after 35 championship titles, entering the Mini 7s.

After much success again, Richards was offered the Canterbury Racing School Formula Ford drive for the Nissan Mobil 500 meetings at Wellington and Pukekohe.

After a short stint in the English Formula Ford Championship, Richards returned to New Zealand to sign with BMW Motorsport NZ as junior driver, winning the 1995/96 Class 1 Touring Car Championships for the team, along with nine out of 12 series races.

V8 Supercar

[edit]

Team Kiwi Racing

[edit]

Promoted to lead driver, Richards won the next three NZ Touring Car Championships prior to joining Team Kiwi for the V8 Supercar series in Australia in 2001. Battling testing restrictions and the tyranny of distance, Richards finished an extremely creditable 19th in the 2002 V8 Supercar Series.

Team Dynamik

[edit]

Richards moved to the new South Australian Team Dynamik in 2003, putting in some strong results, including a narrow failure to snatch victory in the Sandown 500 from Mark Skaife in the race's dying stages.

Tasman Motorsport

[edit]

He then made the decision to move to the newly formed Tasman Motorsport outfit in 2004 and has developed into a driver who believes he is capable of standing on the top step of a V8 Supercar podium.

Coming back from a major rollover in the 2005 round at Queensland Raceway,[2] Richards quickly returned to stride and promptly placed the repaired Commodore into the top 10 in the following round at Oran Park Raceway.

His podium results in the Sandown and Bathurst endurance events in 2005 helped cement his place as a 'coming man' of the V8 Supercar category. In the 2005 Supercheap Auto 1000, Richards produced a strong performance and came very close to winning the race.

In the following year, Richards won the second of three races at the Winton Motor Raceway, hence gaining his first (and only) V8 Supercars race victory. He finished the season in 18th position.

At the 2007 Bathurst 1000 Richards and Murphy were the best placed Holden team, finishing fourth overall. Surfers Paradise was his best round in 2007 where he finished third overall, and finished 14th in the Championship, with 235 points 15 points behind teammate Greg Murphy.

Brad Jones Racing

[edit]

Richards joined Brad Jones Racing VE Commodore in 2009, driving the #8 car. (who ran a new race number for the team in V8 Supercars but was the racing number of team co-principal Brad Jones during the team's years racing in AUSCAR and NASCAR at the Calder Park Thunderdome) Richards secured his first V8 Supercar pole position at Hidden Valley Raceway in 2009. Richards finished third at the 2010 L&H 500 with Andrew Jones.[3]

Illness and death

[edit]

In November 2010 it was revealed that Richards was admitted to hospital on 16 November and was later diagnosed with an adrenocortical carcinoma.[4] Richards immediately stepped away from racing to devote his energies to fighting the illness with Andrew Jones substituting for the balance of the 2010 season. He continued to race sporadically with guest appearances in the second-tier V8 Supercar series, Australian GT Championship, Touring Car Masters and continued testing with Brad Jones Racing into the second half of 2011. He died on 15 December 2011 at his home.[5]

In 2012 an illustrated documentary of his life was released.

Career results

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Season Series Position Car Team
1996/97 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 4th BMW 325i International Motorsport
1997 Australian Super Touring Championship 16th BMW 318i CPW Motorsport
1997/98 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 2nd BMW 320i International Motorsport
1998/99 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 1st BMW 320i International Motorsport
1999/2000 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 1st BMW 320i International Motorsport
2000 Shell Championship Series 52nd Holden VT Commodore Team Kiwi Racing
2000/01 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 1st Nissan Primera Team Kiwi Racing
2001 Shell Championship Series 24th Holden VX Commodore Team Kiwi Racing
2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 19th Holden VX Commodore Team Kiwi Racing
2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 26th Holden VY Commodore Team Dynamik
2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series 14th Holden VX Commodore
Holden VY Commodore
Tasman Motorsport
2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 17th Holden VZ Commodore Tasman Motorsport
2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 18th Holden VZ Commodore Tasman Motorsport
2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 14th Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series 17th Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport
2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series 14th Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 17th Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing
2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series 29th Holden VE Commodore Greg Murphy Racing
Australian GT Championship 23rd Ferrari 430 GT3 Maranello Motorsport

Supercars Championship results

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(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Supercars results
Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Position Points
2000 Team Kiwi Racing Holden VT Commodore PHI
R1
PHI
R2
BAR
R3
BAR
R4
BAR
R5
ADE
R6
ADE
R7
EAS
R8
EAS
R9
EAS
R10
HDV
R11
HDV
R12
HDV
R13
CAN
R14
CAN
R15
CAN
R16
QLD
R17
QLD
R18
QLD
R19
WIN
R20
WIN
R21
WIN
R22
ORA
R23
ORA
R24
ORA
R25
CAL
R26
CAL
R27
CAL
R28
QLD
R29

SAN
R30
SAN
R31
SAN
R32
BAT
R33

16
51st 48
2001 Team Kiwi Racing Holden VX Commodore PHI
R1

PHI
R2

ADE
R3

ADE
R4

EAS
R5

EAS
R6

HDV
R7

HDV
R8

HDV
R9

CAN
R10

CAN
R11

CAN
R12

BAR
R13

BAR
R14

BAR
R15

CAL
R16

CAL
R17

CAL
R18

ORA
R19

ORA
R20

QLD
R21

WIN
R22

WIN
R23

BAT
R24

PUK
R25

PUK
R26

PUK
R27

SAN
R28

SAN
R29

SAN
R30

24th 1146
2002 Team Kiwi Racing Holden VX Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R2

PHI
R3
PHI
R4
EAS
R5

EAS
R6

EAS
R7

HDV
R8

HDV
R9

HDV
R10

CAN
R11

CAN
R12

CAN
R13

BAR
R14

BAR
R15

BAR
R16

ORA
R17

ORA
R18

WIN
R19

WIN
R20

QLD
R21

BAT
R22

SUR
R23

SUR
R24

PUK
R25

PUK
R26

PUK
R27

SAN
R28

SAN
R29

2003 Team Dynamik Holden VY Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R1

PHI
R3

EAS
R4

WIN
R5

BAR
R6

BAR
R7

BAR
R8

HDV
R9

HDV
R10

HDV
R11

QLD
R12

ORA
R13

SAN
R14

BAT
R15

SUR
R16

SUR
R17

PUK
R18

PUK
R19

PUK
R20

EAS
R21

EAS
R22

2004 Tasman Motorsport Holden VY Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R2

EAS
R3

PUK
R4

PUK
R5

PUK
R6

HDV
R7

HDV
R8

HDV
R9

BAR
R10

BAR
R11

BAR
R12

QLD
R13

WIN
R14

ORA
R15

ORA
R16

SAN
R17

BAT
R18

SUR
R19

SUR
R20

SYM
R21

SYM
R22

SYM
R23

EAS
R24

EAS
R25

EAS
R26

2005 Tasman Motorsport Holden VZ Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R2

PUK
R3
PUK
R4
PUK
R5
BAR
R6

BAR
R7

BAR
R8

EAS
R9

EAS
R10

SHA
R11
SHA
R12
SHA
R13

HDV
R14

HDV
R15

HDV
R16

QLD
R17

ORA
R18

ORA
R19

SAN
R20

BAT
R21

SUR
R22

SUR
R23

SUR
R24

SYM
R25

SYM
R26

SYM
R27

PHI
R28

PHI
R29

PHI
R30

2006 Tasman Motorsport Holden VZ Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R2

PUK
R3

PUK
R4

PUK
R5

BAR
R6

BAR
R7

BAR
R8

WIN
R9

WIN
R10

WIN
R11

HDV
R12

HDV
R13

HDV
R14

QLD
R15

QLD
R16

QLD
R17

ORA
R18

ORA
R19

ORA
R20

SAN
R21

BAT
R22

SUR
R23

SUR
R24

SUR
R25

SYM
R26

SYM
R27

SYM
R28

BHR
R29

BHR
R30

BHR
R31

PHI
R32

PHI
R33

PHI
R34

2007 Tasman Motorsport Holden VE Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R2

BAR
R3

BAR
R4

BAR
R5

PUK
R6

PUK
R7

PUK
R8

WIN
R9

WIN
R10

WIN
R11

EAS
R12

EAS
R13

EAS
R14

HDV
R15

HDV
R16

HDV
R17

QLD
R18

QLD
R19

QLD
R20

ORA
R21

ORA
R22

ORA
R23

SAN
R24

BAT
R25

SUR
R26

SUR
R27

SUR
R28

BHR
R29

BHR
R30

BHR
R31

SYM
R32

SYM
R33

SYM
R34

PHI
R35

PHI
R36

PHI
R37

2008 Tasman Motorsport Holden VE Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R2

EAS
R3

EAS
R4

EAS
R5

HAM
R6

HAM
R7

HAM
R8

BAR
R9

BAR
R10

BAR
R11

SAN
R12

SAN
R13

SAN
R14

HDV
R15

HDV
R16

HDV
R17

QLD
R18

QLD
R19

QLD
R20

WIN
R21

WIN
R22

WIN
R23

PHI
Q

PHI
R24

BAT
R25

SUR
R26

SUR
R27

SUR
R28

BHR
R29

BHR
R30

BHR
R31

SYM
R32

SYM
R33

SYM
R34

ORA
R35

ORA
R36

ORA
R37

2009 Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore ADE
R1

ADE
R2

HAM
R3

HAM
R4

WIN
R5

WIN
R6

SYM
R7

SYM
R8

HDV
R9

HDV
R10

TOW
R11

TOW
R12

SAN
R13

SAN
R14

QLD
R15

QLD
R16

PHI
Q

PHI
R17

BAT
R18

SUR
R19

SUR
R20

SUR
R21

SUR
R22

PHI
R23

PHI
R24

BAR
R25

BAR
R26

SYD
R27

SYD
R28

2010 Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore YMC
R1

YMC
R2

BHR
R3

BHR
R4

ADE
R5

ADE
R6

HAM
R7

HAM
R8

QLD
R9

QLD
R10

WIN
R11

WIN
R12

HDV
R13

HDV
R14

TOW
R15

TOW
R16

PHI
R17

BAT
R18

SUR
R19

SUR
R20

SYM
R21

SYM
R22

SAN
R23

SAN
R24

SYD
R25

SYD
R26

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

[edit]
Year Team Car Co-driver Position Laps
1997* CPW Motorsport BMW 318i New Zealand Brett Riley DNF 125
1998* International Motorsport BMW 320i New Zealand Barrie Thomlinson DNF 128
2000 Team Kiwi Racing Holden VT Commodore New Zealand Angus Fogg 16th 157
2001 Team Kiwi Racing Holden VT Commodore New Zealand Angus Fogg 16th 157
2002 Team Kiwi Racing Holden VX Commodore New Zealand Simon Wills 11th 160
2003 Team Dynamik Holden VY Commodore New Zealand Simon Wills 22nd 139
2004 Tasman Motorsport Holden VY Commodore New Zealand Fabian Coulthard 20th 152
2005 Tasman Motorsport Holden VZ Commodore Australia Jamie Whincup 2nd 161
2006 Tasman Motorsport Holden VZ Commodore Australia Andrew Jones DNF 151
2007 Tasman Motorsport Holden VE Commodore New Zealand Greg Murphy 4th 161
2008 Tasman Motorsport Holden VE Commodore New Zealand Greg Murphy 2nd 161
2009 Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore Australia Cameron McConville 2nd 161
2010 Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore Australia Andrew Jones 23rd 157

* Super Touring race

Legacy

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Jason Richards Memorial Trophy

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Since 2013, the driver who scores the most points across all races during the weekend of the New Zealand round of the V8 Supercars championship has received the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy. The trophy was introduced when the series returned to Pukekohe in 2013, replacing the Mark Porter Memorial Trophy presented at the Hamilton 400.

Jason Bright and Brad Jones Racing, Richards' last teammate and team respectively, were the first winners of the trophy.[6] In 2015 and 2017, Jamie Whincup, who was a teammate of Richards in 2005 at Tasman Motorsport and co-drove with him to a second-place finish at the 2005 Bathurst 1000, won the trophy.[7]

Winners

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Year Driver Team Car Venue
2013 Australia Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing Holden VF Commodore Pukekohe
2014 Australia Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon
2015 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore
2016 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore
2017 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore
2018 New Zealand Scott McLaughlin DJR Team Penske Ford FG X Falcon
2019 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden ZB Commodore
2022 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden ZB Commodore

References

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  1. ^ "Team BOC 2011 - About / Drivers". Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2010. Team BOC profile
  2. ^ "Jason Richards crashes". The Age. 25 July 2005. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
  3. ^ http://www.speedcafe.com/2010/09/12/lowndes-and-skaife-score-big-lh-500-win/ Archived 15 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine Speedcafe. 12 September 2012.
  4. ^ http://www.speedcafe.com/2010/11/18/jason-richards-sidelined-in-cancer-fight/ Speedcafe. 18 November 2010.
  5. ^ "V8 driver Jason Richards passes away". 16 December 2011.
  6. ^ Phelps, James (14 April 2013). "Emotions run high as a tearful Jason Bright claims Jason Richards Memorial Trophy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  7. ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (8 November 2015). "Whincup wins, Winterbottom wobbles in Race 30". SpeedCafe. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
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