Team 18 Bets on Carrera Cup Champ Jones for Supercars Enduros
Rookie Harri Jones Set for High-Pressure Supercars Debut
Team 18 is making a bold move for the 2025 endurance season, signing Carrera Cup champion **Harri Jones** to co-drive with **Anton De Pasquale**, a decision being labelled the biggest gamble in the co-driver lineup.
A Leap into the Deep End
At just 26 years old, **Jones** will make his Supercars debut without prior experience at any level of the category. He faces an immediate baptism of fire, with his first races scheduled for The Bend and the iconic Bathurst 1000.
The Queenslander impressed during an evaluation day at The Bend in December. However, with private testing severely restricted this year, his track time has been minimal.
To help **Jones** acclimatize, Team 18 plans to give him significant laps in the #18 car during the upcoming full-field test at Ipswich on August 12. Additionally, an evaluation day at Winton is scheduled before The Bend 500.
“Harri’s a bright star of the future in our eyes. It’s frustrating you can’t give him more laps and see earlier in the year how good he is, but we believe he’s going to be good, otherwise we wouldn’t have signed him.”
—Adrian Burgess, Team Principal
Team Principal **Adrian Burgess** expressed his confidence in **Jones**, stating, He’s dominated the series he’s in for the last few years and we’re happy to give him a chance. We’re a bit surprised why other people haven’t given him a chance earlier on.
**Burgess** added that **Jones** has integrated well with the team, visiting the workshop regularly. We had a run with him last December for an evaluation day and his lap times and feedback, his consistency was very good for someone who has not got a lot of mileage in a Supercar.
Future Prospects and Team Strategy
**Jones** has openly declared his ambition to compete in the Supercars Championship full-time. Speculation suggests he is a candidate to replace **David Reynolds** in the other Team 18 entry next season, should the team opt not to renew the veteran’s contract.
Regarding future driver decisions, **Burgess** commented, Who knows what we’ll do? Let’s focus on each event as it comes. We may have made a decision before the enduros, we may not have. We’re not putting any timeline on it.
The team’s strategy focuses on building the best driver lineup for the present and future. **Burgess** acknowledged that **David Reynolds** may not have had the optimal car to showcase his talent: I don’t think we’ve given [Dave] the best car yet, so I still believe there’s more to come from him in terms of results when we can give him a better platform.
**Jones** previously drove the #20 Tradie Camaro in Townsville when **Reynolds** was sidelined with illness. Although put on standby, he was ultimately not required to race.
In contrast, **David Reynolds** will be partnered by **Lee Holdsworth** for the Endurance Cup. **Holdsworth** is set to begin his preparations with an outing in the GT World Challenge Australia at Sandown this weekend.
The Supercars Championship season culminates in the Bathurst 1000, a race renowned for its unpredictability. In 2023, the winning margin was just 0.2 seconds, highlighting the fine margins that decide motorsport’s biggest events (Supercars Official Site).