Evolution, not Revolution at DJR

Jim Beam Racing launched its assault on the 2008 V8 Supercar season with some dynamic and stylish changes unveiled by drivers Steve Johnson and Will Davison at Dick Johnson Racing headquarters.
The iconic team has made some subtle changes to its warpaint for 2008 and in addition to some improvements made during the off-season, believes this is what will make a difference to the teams performance this season.

Drivers, Johnson and Davison are both positive that the 2008 season will continue
to yield results after the latter half of 2007 provided an encouraging boost for the Queensland-based team, including an emphatic 3rd place at Bathurst and a podium place in Bahrain.

Steve Johnson is enthusiastic and fit after the off-season break, and plans to follow up his two podium placings from last season with further success in his ninth season with Dick Johnson Racing.

Its been a long road to recovery for the team but everything is in a very positive light for the year ahead. We havent had to reinvent the wheel with regard to our development, just make improvements to what we already have established. Its all about evolution, Johnson said.

Qualifying has been an issue for us in the past and with the developments made during the off-season, Im confident that this is one of the areas where we can make a marked improvement on our results. In addition, we will be aiming to be more consistent in our performance throughout the season; particularly on the tracks where we werent as strong as we could have been. Im confident we have a very good chance of more podium finishes and a win or two this season. We were very close in performance to some of our rivals last year and I believe Jim Beam Racing can step up again this year to push the leading teams for results.

The new season also brings renewed confidence to Will Davison who is determined to complete this years championship well inside the Top 10 after finishing in 10th place last season.

Davison stated, Im really excited about the new season and cant wait for it to begin; in fact Im counting down the days until the start of the season. This is my 3rd year in V8 Supercars and Im now more determined than ever to get on the podium and push for wins. There are some very tough competitors in this category so there is an enormous amount of pressure on the driver to make no mistakes and put in 110% every time you race. Ive set some pretty tough personal goals for this year and am very focused on achieving these.

The Jim Beam Racing team has certainly made a huge amount of progress during the past 12 months and they have a much better understanding of our cars so this should lead to improvements in our performance on the track. Motor racing is all about trial and error, but there are some exciting things happening within the team this year which should certainly boost our performance, a confident Davison concluded.

Team Sporting Director, Adrian Burgess acknowledged that there is an expectation of consistently better on-track results for Jim Beam Racing in 2008 and reinforced the importance of the teams sponsors and fans for their ongoing support of the team.

With the improvements made during the off-season we expect to deliver more podium results and be challenging for wins. The teams preparation for this season is progressing along well and we expect to be right on the money when we roll the cars out at Clipsal, Burgess said.

Its true that the team has been through some pretty tough times during the past few years but everything is looking very positive thanks to Jim Beam and our sponsors as well as our many fans. Their support is invaluable to the team and at the end of the day; this gives the team the extra boost they need to perform well, Burgess concluded.

Team owner Dick Johnson was quick to add his appreciation for the continued efforts and support of his staff and the team sponsors during a difficult period for the Queensland-based operation.

Id like to extend my personal thanks to all of my staff and commercial partners for the enormous amount of support they have shown for our operation. The amount of hard work and effort by all involved has ensured that the future for Jim Beam Racing is looking very bright indeed, the laconic Queenslander said.

After an extremely successful first year of partnership with Dick Johnson and the team, Jim Beam Managing Director Phillip Baldock re-affirmed the companys ongoing commitment.

In 2007 we entered back into motor racing in a big way – sponsors of the V8 Supercar Series and partners with the most iconic team of the series. Were more excited than ever about backing Dick, Steve, Will and their support team in 2008 and importantly, were in it for the long run, Baldock said.

Dick Johnson is undoubtedly one of the pioneers of racing and we are committed to seeing his business succeed both on and off the track. There are so many synergies in the brand values of the Jim Beam Racing team and our brand. Were proud to be a sponsor for what is set to be yet another action packed year.