Bright assessing Supercars co-driver options

Jason Bright is assessing his options for a return to Supercars as a co-driver in this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup.

The 44-year-old announced his retirement from full-time Supercars racing at the end of last season after 572 starts in a career that has seen him score 20 race wins.

Given his experience, Bright has emerged as a valuable co-driving option for teams as the field begins to cement plans for the enduros.

The Supercars veteran says he has received offers but is yet to lock away a drive.

More the half the grid have confirmed enduro line-ups with fellow former full-timer James Moffat landing a coveted drive at Tickford Racing, which has also snapped up David Russell to complete its roster.

Shell V-Power Racing, Tekno Autosports, Brad Jones Racing, Nissan Motorsport, Matt Stone Racing and 23Red Racing are yet to make official announcements regarding enduro line ups.

Bright is however confident he will be on the grid come the Sandown 500.

“I’m sure I will probably end up driving something this year but I haven’t got anything sorted yet,” he told Speedcafe.com.

“I plan on doing the enduros but how that all comes about we are yet to see.

“There are options going on but I haven’t locked anything away yet.”

The 1998 Bathurst 1000 winner has held talks regarding a co-drive with the Matt Stone Racing team, which is currently leasing his Racing Entitlements Contract to run Todd Hazelwood in the main game.

“I don’t believe they have locked anyone away yet,” he added.

“It is one option but they are still a bit undecided at the moment, but I haven’t spoken to them about that for a few weeks.”

Matt Stone Racing is edging closer to finalising its decision and could promote its Super2 driver Bryce Fullwood into the seat should they chose youth over the experienced Bright.

“We certainly haven’t locked away a co-driver yet and are not in a position to comment on it,” team boss Matt Stone told Speedcafe.com.

“Certainly as an outfit we have been about the young up and comers, so we are probably not far away from making a final decision on all of this.”

While Bright’s enduro plans are yet to be secured, he is keen to explore his racing horizons later this year with GT racing among his preferred options.

“I looked around at doing something like Porsche Carrera Cup and GT,” he added.

“I keep getting phone calls from different people that have got options but I haven’t done anything.

“I’m interested in doing a bit of GT racing. When things settle down a bit then I will probably look at that a bit more and that includes some overseas stuff.

“I haven’t had the chance to seriously look at it.

“It is not quite that high on my priority list right now but I’m keen to race other things, and if there is an opportunity then I will.”

The Victorian has previous experience in the discipline having raced at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours in an 8 Star Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT2, before a run at the 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, driving an Audi R8 GT3.