RIP Jason Richards - Lover and liver of life, driver of drives

[Razor]

RIP Jase, the big C disease claims another one who never deserved it. I can only sum up who Jase ment to me with what I put on Facebook

Jason Richards, a personal account.

When I first think of the name Jason Richards, I am not drawn to what he did in his car nor record books, but I'm always drawn to the person that was and is Jason "Jase" Richards.

I first heard his name in 2003 with Team Dynamik when he rolled his Holden VY Commodore at Pukekohe. It wasn't until at the Sandown 500 when he caught my attention battling with Mark Skaife in a wild and wet Sandown 500. My 13 year old brain thought "This guy can handle himself against one of the V8 titans" and even though he eventually stopped in the sand trap, Jason won in my eyes.
At the start of 2004, I picked up a copy of a magazine called Street Machine and they had an interview with Jason about moving from Team Dynamik to the newly formed team Tasman Motorsport. This interview was the catalyst of me following the softly spoken Kiwi. The way he spoke in the interview that was transferred to ink on gloss paper got me hooked. I started to follow the orange and black with a silver Kiwi fern VX and later on VY Commodore.
In 2005, Tasman Motorsport brought out a car that is still one of my favourite paint schemes, the black and white with orange highlighted Dodo liveried VZ Commodore. Jase looked brilliant in the new car with a fresh faced kid named Jamie Whincup in his second season of V8 Supercars as his team mate. I watched in sadness his crashes at Clipsal, Shanghai and the gymnastic pirouette he did at his least favoured track Queensland Raceway to watching in ecstasy with his 3rd at Sandown and 2nd at Bathurst behind Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly.
Over the years that were 2006, 2007 and 2008 I watched in both sadness when he found the sand or concrete (like the time when he tried to emulate Dukes of Hazzard when his steering failed and his car jumped at 300km/h at The Chase at Bathurst in 2006) happiness of his first race win at Winton Raceway again in 2006 to grabbing a podium at the Indy support race in 2007 in the his #3 VE Commodore to another podium at Bathurst with Greg Murphy in the blue VE Commodore in 2008.
In 2009, my good friend Brad Jones announced that Jason would be moving to his Team BOC outfit. Even though at first I told Brad flatly that the livery I didn't like (I thought it was a bit plain from a graphic designer's point of view) I quickly came round and really liked it. It reflected Jason and the persona of Jase Richards; it wasn't in your face, no ego "look at me" personality and was a very humble look. I celebrated at home with Jase's first pole and another 2nd place at Bathurst.
In 2010, my father and I went up to Queensland Raceway for the V8 Supercars. I quickly ran into the BJR guys at a poster signing and Jase and I quickly got chatting to Jase. I spotted his beard he was trying to grow and said with a giggle "Mate, what's with the beard, you look like Johnny Bowe with it!" Jase and Jason Bright both looked at one another than to me and both laughed out loud and Jase stroked his "beard" and said "Mate, I wish I had some of JB's driving talent." The way he spoke and portrayed himself gave me the reasons why I liked this guy, he was a funny bloke with no ego, no negativity and would give up his time to have a yarn and a joke or two, mostly at his own expense. When it was announced that Jase was diagnosed with cancer, to say I was devastated was a gross understatement. Many phone calls and texts went to the Brad Jones with constant updates about Jase
In this year (2011), I was sad but not shocked to see Jase was going to sit out the V8 Season (with the exception of the Aus Grand Prix support race in the #14 white BOC Commodore), when Jase grabbed a podium at the AGP, I was damn nearly put to tears with the rest of the field. When I went down to Bathurst for the 1000 race, I ran into Jase down there. He signed my Polo shirt and hat. I told him "Mate, I want to do something for you and your cancer battle, so in your honour, this shirt is for Bid4Jase." He stood there for a sec, a lump in the throat and a tear welled up in his eyes and he shook my hand and said "Thanks mate." Over the days, I got two photos with him. When I told all the drivers, CEO of V8's and the Ch 7 crew that this shirt was for Jase, all were happy to sign. (Plus a few were brought to near tears that I was going to great lengths to help out my mate)

When I was told Jason had passed, I thought it wasn't right. I told the person who posted his message up that it was a different Jason Richards that died over in Asia and he thought it was our much loved Kiwi Jase. This person didn't think much more as he told me it was a rumour, nothing more. When it was confirmed that our Jase had gone up into the great racetrack in the skies, I was saddened but thought "He's at peace now, he didn't die but he was released from the pain of his illness." The shirt that was destined for his charity will now be going to his family so that his wife and children have something from their husband and Dad's last ever Bathurst.

RIP Jason Richards, you will always be loved and missed by your family, friends and fans. As a fan and a friend, I will always cherish everything you gave me but most of all your time with me. We all love you mate. I hope you give Peter Brock, Marco Simoncelli, Dan Wheldon, Mark Porter, Possum Bourne and Ayrton Senna to name a few a run for their money up in the great race track in the sky.

To use a quote from Brian May and Freddie Mercury; Jason Richards, lover and liver of life, driver of drives. 1976-2011. - Greg Barton.

[Gaz170]

What else is there to say after that?
RIP Jason, you will be sorely missed

[Paulaweybridge]

35 years of age.

That's way too young to go.

RIP Jason