Jason Bargwanna

Jason Eric Bargwanna
Bargwanna at the 2007 Bathurst 1000
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1971-04-26) 26 April 1971 (age 50)
Related to	Harry Bargwanna (father) Ben Bargwanna (son) Alf Bargwanna (uncle) Scott Bargwanna (cousin) Jude Bargwanna (cousin)
Supercars Championship career
Championships	0
Races	377
Wins	7
Podiums	23
Pole positions	2

Jason Eric Bargwanna (born 26 April, 1971) is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathurst 1000 in a Garry Rogers Motorsport prepared Holden Commodore. Bargwanna was the Driving Standards Observer for the Supercars Championship from 2014 until 2016.

Career history[]

Bargwanna commenced his racing career in the late 1980s, initially competing in the Formula Vee category. He made his Bathurst 1000 début while still a teenager in 1990 and won the 1992 Bathurst 1600 cc class at 20, with his cousin Scott, however a lack of funding limited his motor sport participation for the next few seasons and he pursued a career in the financial sector.

His career finally started to move forward in 1995, racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship. He impressed in his seven-year-old Reynard, racing against younger drivers with the latest cars from Van Diemen and Swift and against drivers of the caliber of Jason Bright and Mark Webber. His 1995 showing allowed him to attract the budget to run a campaign with late model equipment in 1996 and he finished second in the championship to Van Diemen's factory supported driver, David Besnard. He also represented Australia in the EFDA Nations Cup in both 1995 and 1996. A move to Formula Holden resulted in second place in the 1997 Australian Drivers' Championship with SH Racing.

V8 Supercars[]

As a member of the Holden Young Lions V8 Supercar program in 1997, he surprised many by taking provisional pole position in the #97 Holden Commodore at the Bathurst 1000 Classic only to damage the car beyond repair in a race day warm up accident. His career further advanced in 1998 with a move full-time to Garry Rogers Motorsport, where he stayed for five years. Bargwanna is best known for winning the 2000 Bathurst 1000 with Garth Tander for that team. He also scored two round wins at the Winton event in 1999 and 2000 and at the inaugural championship round supporting the Gold Coast Indy 300, the V8 Supercar Challenge, in 2002.

In 2003, Bargwanna switched to Ford and drove for Larkham Motor Sport from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, Larkham Motor Sport merged with WPS Racing, the team folding immediately prior to the 2008 season and leaving Bargwanna without a full-time drive. He did however co-drove a Holden Commodore (VE) for Rod Nash Racing alongside Tony D'Alberto in the 2008 Phillip Island 500 and the Bathurst 1000 endurance races.

Bargwanna joined Tasman Motorsport for 2009 and, following the closure of that team at the end of the season,^[1] he joined Kelly Racing for 2010.^[2] He was also voted in the top 50 all time Australian Touring car drivers in 2010.^[3] In 2011 Bargwanna drove a Brad Jones Racing Commodore alongside his junior open-wheel rival, Jason Bright.^[4]

In 2014, Bargwanna was appointed as the Driver Standards Observer for the Supercars Championship.^[5] Bargwanna left the post at the end of 2016.^[6]

New Zealand V8[]

In late 2011, Bargwanna left the V8 Supercars Australia and joined the New Zealand V8. He resulted runner-up in the 2011/12 season behind Angus Fogg, collecting a round win and podiums in the six rounds driving a Tulloch Ford Falcon. The team switched to a Holden Commodore for the 2013 season. The driver won nine out of 15 races and got the TLX title.

TCR[]

In 2020, Bargwanna was to make his debut in the TCR Australia and TCR Asia Pacific Cup driving a Peugeot 308. Both series were cancelled due to the Corona Virus Pandemic. In 2021, he and his son Ben, debuted in the series. Jason scored his first win at Phillip Island^[7]

Personal life[]

Bargwanna is married to Debra and has two children Jake and Ben and lives in Nar Nar Goon, Victoria. His father, Harry Bargwanna, himself owns an Australian racing driver, owns and operates a mechanical repair shop in the Southern Sydney suburb of Engadine. His uncle Alf and cousin Scott are also national level race drivers. Bargwanna attended Heathcote High School in Sydney. Bargwanna owns four Hungry Jack's franchises.^[8] Jason also owns 1 Red Rooster outlet in Pakenham.

Career results[]

Bargwanna drove a Holden Commodore (VE) for Kelly Racing in the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Bargwanna is driving a Holden Commodore (VE) for Brad Jones Racing in the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship.

† team result

Complete Bathurst 1000 results[]

The Holden Commodore (VT) in which Bargwanna and Garth Tander won the 2000 FAI 1000 at Bathurst. The car is pictured in 2018.

Year	Car#	Team	Car	Co-driver	Overall position	Class position	Laps
1990	43	Brian Callaghan	Holden Commodore (VL)	Brian Callaghan, Jr. John Gerwald	21st	19th	143
1992	71	Toyota Team Australia	Toyota Corolla FX-GT	Scott Bargwanna	22nd	1st	126
1997	97	Holden Young Lions	Holden Commodore (VS)	Mark Noske	DNS	DNS	0
1998	35	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VS Commodore	Jim Richards	3rd	3rd	161
1999	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden Commodore (VT)	Garth Tander	DNF	DNF	41
2000	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VT Commodore	Garth Tander	1st	1st	161
2001	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden Commodore (VX)	Garth Tander	6th	6th	161
2002	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VX Commodore	Garth Tander	DNF	DNF	51
2003	10	Larkham Motor Sport	Ford Falcon (BA)	Mark Larkham	DNF	DNF	118
2004	10	Larkham Motor Sport	Ford BA Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	5th	5th	161
2005	20	Larkham Motor Sport	Ford BA Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	DNF	DNF	122
2006	10	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	Craig Baird	10th	10th	161
2007	8	WPS Racing	Ford Falcon (BF)	Max Wilson	7th	7th	161
2008	55	Rod Nash Racing	Holden Commodore (VE)	Tony D'Alberto	DNF	DNF	159
2009	3	Tasman Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	Mark Noske	6th	6th	161
2010	11	Kelly Racing	Holden VE Commodore	Glenn Seton	DNF	DNF	132
2011	14	Brad Jones Racing	Holden VE Commodore	Shane Price	23rd	23rd	158

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results[]

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1993	Fowler Bathroom Products	Stephen Shedden Scott Bargwanna	Toyota MR2	S	228	DNF	DNF
1994	Mercantile Mutual Dealer Team	John Smith Scott Bargwanna	Toyota MR2	S	248	5th	2nd
2009	Pro-Duct Motorsport	Steve Knight Brad Jones	Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo X	C	238	3rd	3rd
2010	Pro-Duct Motorsport	Bob Pearson Steve Glenney	Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo X	A	83	DNF	DNF

TCR Australia results[]

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

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jason Bargwanna.

• Driver DataBase profile
• Racing Reference profile
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• News Articles on Speedcafe.com