The New Zealander is about to embark on his third full season at Brad Jones Racing, after finishing a career-best seventh in the drivers’ championship in 2023.
The #8 R&J Batteries Camaro was shown off in a revised, Peter Hughes-design livery on the banks of the Murray River which runs along Albury, where BJR is based.
“R&J Batteries have pulled together another stunning livery, I’m very excited by the whole paint scheme – if it goes as good as it looks, we’re in for a great year,” said Heimgartner.
“We found our stride in the middle of last year and unfortunately weren’t able to capitalise it there at the end, but we’ve all been putting in some serious hours over the summer to come back stronger.
“I’m as ready as ever to get to Bathurst and get racing. This is my ninth year in the category and third year with BJR. I’m comfortable with the environment and the team here, I’ve seen what we can do over the last two years, and there’s just a few things we needed to clean up which we have.
“So, this year is a big opportunity for us.”
R&J Batteries last year announced a new, two-year sponsorship deal with BJR, taking the relationship to 2025.
Car #8, which will again be engineered by Tony Woodward, has also attracted new backing from Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, while Heimgartner himself is featured on the bonnet in a tie-in with Pizza Hut.
Team owner Brad Jones said, “This has to be one of my favourite R&J Batteries liveries, it’s a stunning car.
“It’s also an amazing time to be able to welcome Harley Davidson, John West Logistics and Hamilton Asphalts to the team. They’re very exciting additions and terrific partners to have on board.
“The R&J Batteries car had a standout performance last year with Andre and it’ll be interesting to see how they start off this year.
“Andre is our elder statesman now, and he’s been very supportive to Bryce [Fullwood], Macca [Macauley Jones] and Jaxon [Evans] – it’s such a good working relationship for our team and he’s an incredibly important asset.”
R&J Batteries Managing Director Ray Robson added, “We are excited to be onboard with BJR and with Andre behind the wheel for the 2024 season.
“The new R&J Batteries livery looks great and we welcome onboard the new sponsors for this season.
“With mixed results last year, we are looking forward to improving and hopefully find some more consistency in this very competitive field.
“The partnership with Brad and BJR team is great for the R&J brand plus Andre is a great ambassador for our business which makes the deal worthwhile and enjoyable.
“Can’t wait for the first round at Bathurst in a few weeks’ time.”
Heimgartner’s is the second BJR livery to be unveiled for the 2024 Supercars Championship season after Fullwood’s broke cover a day earlier.
The team will test at Winton on Wednesday.
PHOTOS: Andre Heimgartner R&J Batteries BJR Camaro livery
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