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| Manufacturer | Ford |
|---|---|
| Team Principal | Ross Stone |
| Team Manager | David Stuart |
| Race Drivers | 4. Lee Holdsworth 9. Shane Van Gisbergen 47. Tim Slade (Customer car) |
| Chassis | Ford FG Falcon |
| Debut | 1998 |
| Drivers' Championships | 3 (2003, 2004 & 2005) |
| Round wins | 23 |
| Race wins | 40 |
| Pole positions | 27 |
| 2012 position | 3rd (4743 points) |
Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australian motor racing team competing in the International V8 Supercars Championship, from 1998 until 2012. Owned by experienced New Zealand-born motorsport veterans, Ross Stone and Jim Stone after buying out their partner in their previous racing team. The team enjoyed a period of considerable success in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons, in which it was the dominant team of V8 Supercar racing.
The team was based on Queensland's Gold Coast[1] and their nominated test track was Queensland Raceway.
SBR has won three drivers championships, with Marcos Ambrose in 2003/2004; and Russell Ingall in 2005. SBR has won the Teams Championship (combined points of both cars) in 2004 and 2005, the former being a 1-2 finish with the aforementioned Ambrose and Ingall respectively. 2003 also saw SBR win the V8 Development Series with Mark Winterbottom at the wheel. In 1998, SBR won the Bathurst 1000 with Jason Bright and Steven Richards at the wheel of the team's Falcon.
At the end of 2012 the team was sold to GT racing team Erebus Motorsport who will race Mercedes-Benz E Class cars in 2013.[2][3]
Contents |
History [edit]
The team was originally formed as Alan Jones Racing in 1996, with Ross and Jim each holding a one-third ownership stake along with the team's lead driver, 1980 Formula One World Champion, Alan Jones. Racing initially under the Pack Leader Racing identity with Paul Romano as #2 driver, the team had several title sponsors in 1997 before the Stone brothers bought out Jones' stake at the end of the year.
Now a single car team under the name Stone Brothers Racing, the team signed 1997 Bathurst Classic co-driver Jason Bright to drive a Pirtek-sponsored EL Falcon for the 1998 season. The team also ran the Larkham Motor Sport Falcon of Mark Larkham, essentially as a full team-mate to Bright. Bright and Larkham had a mixed year, with the highlight being a win in the Bathurst 1000 with co-driver Steven Richards, which was almost a team 1-2 result as the team displayed excellent strategy and teamwork during the day, only a battery problem slowing the satellite car of Larkham and Brad Jones who still managed to finish fourth. The team continued to show promise in 1999, with Bright scoring three poles, and three podiums including a win at the Hidden Valley Raceway round.
Bright left the team to pursue opportunities in the United States and the team expanded to a two-car operation, with Craig Baird taking his seat in the Pirtek car, while Tony Longhurst drove the new Caltex-sponsored entry. In a lean year, the team's best finish was a podium for Baird at Phillip Island, although Longhurst and co-driver David Besnard lead late in the 2000 Bathurst 1000 until tangling with another car.
SBR then opted for some young talent for the 2001 season, with Marcos Ambrose and David Besnard taking over the driving duties in the Pirtek and Caltex Falcons respectively. Ambrose won a round, took two podiums, and impressed with his qualifying speed. Besnard had a mixed year, taking one podium. Both drivers remained with the team for the 2002 season, and took three round wins between them; including a Queensland 500 enduro victory for Besnard, and a dominant win at Sandown Raceway for Ambrose.
In 2003, Ambrose continued to drive the Pirtek-sponsored SBR Falcon, but star driver Russell Ingall took over for the FPR-bound Besnard in the Caltex car. 2003 saw the introduction of the Project Blueprint parity rules, and the new BA Falcon for Ford, and the VY Commodore for Holden. On this new playing field, SBR was the dominant force, with Ambrose winning the championship and Ingall finishing 7th. Between them they won eight of thirteen rounds (6 to Ambrose, 2 for Ingall). Ambrose took 5 pole positions. Meanwhile, Mark Winterbottom won the Level Two Development Series in an SBR Falcon.
This dominance continued in the 2004 season, with Ambrose winning a second championship and Ingall finishing 2nd overall, giving SBR a historic 1-2 championship finish. The team recorded 6 round wins - 5 to Ambrose and 1 to Ingall. Among these round victories was an outstanding Sandown 500 victory to Ambrose and co-driver Greg Ritter - a race where Ambrose reset the lap record. The same race saw Ingall and his co-driver Cameron McLean come in 2nd for a 1-2 race finish.
In 2005, Ingall won the championship, finally shedding the dubious "bridesmaid" tag. Consistency and strategy, rather than outright speed and wins were crucial to Ingall's win. Ambrose had led the championship until he was involved in an incident in the Bathurst 1000 with Greg Murphy. He went on to finish 3rd behind Ingall and Craig Lowndes. Ingall won a single round, while Ambrose took victories in the first and last rounds of the year. Both took multiple podiums, while Ambrose managed a pair of pole positions.
In both 2004 and 2005, SBR won the Team's Championship by comfortable margins.
2006 saw Ambrose leave V8 Supercar to pursue a career in NASCAR, and Pirtek withdrew its sponsorship. Former F1 Test Driver James Courtney was signed to drive the #4 car, now sponsored by JELD-WEN. Ingall continued in the Caltex entry, but couldn't defend his title - eventually finishing a disappointing eighth. Courtney improved throughout the season to finish 11th, and won Rookie of the Year. The highlight of the year was the team's performance at Bathurst, with Courtney and co-driver Glenn Seton third, with Ingall and co-driver Luke Youlden coming in fourth.
Ingall and Courtney continued driving for SBR in 2007, which proved to be an inconsistent season. Courtney scored round podiums in Adelaide, Bathurst and Bahrain, and a pole position in Adelaide; while Ingall managed a podium on the Gold Coast. Along with these strong results came disappointing ones.
It was announced that both Caltex and driver of car #9 Russell Ingall would leave the team after the completion of the 2007 series. The new driver for the 2008 season was Shane Van Gisbergen and SP Tools became the new title sponsor on car #9. Courtney and JELD-WEN continue to be the driver and title sponsor respectively on car #4.
2008 was an average year for SBR, with Courtney and Van Gisbergen doing well in the series. Courtney broke through for his first race win in the series at the team's test track, Queensland Raceway although round wins still proved elusive for the high profile driver. Courtney and Bathurst team mate David Besnard finished third, while Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb finished the weekend in the wall at McPhillamy Park.
Courtney left the team at seasons end with formerly European based sportscar racer Alex Davison returning home to steer the #4 Falcon. The team prepared a car in 2009 for one of SBR's two Bathurst winning drivers, Jason Bright as Bright's team Britek Motorsport was a customer of SBR. In 2010, the team undertook the operation of a new satellite team, James Rosenberg Racing who has Tim Slade as their driver.
Drivers [edit]
- Jason Bright 1998 - 1999
- Mark Larkham 1998
- Craig Baird 2000
- Tony Longhurst 2000
- Marcos Ambrose 2001 - 2005
- David Besnard 2001 - 2002
- Russell Ingall 2003 - 2007
- James Courtney 2006 - 2008
- Shane Van Gisbergen 2008 - 2012
- Alex Davison 2009 - 2011
- Tim Slade 2010 - 2012
- Lee Holdsworth 2012
The Stone Brothers [edit]
Ross and Jim Stone, two New Zealand-born brothers, are the team manager and chief engineer of SBR respectively. Ross won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship twice in the 1970s. Since then, the Stone Brothers have been behind several winning teams, before forming Pack Leader Racing with former world champion, Alan Jones in 1996. The brothers bought out Jones' share in the team after two seasons and the team was renamed Stone Brothers Racing in 1998. Highlight of their pre-SBR career were engineering the winning Falcon with Dick Johnson Racing at Bathurst in 1994 and in the 1995 championship.
References [edit]
- ^ STONE BROTHERS RACING HISTORY SBR website, accessed: 23 April 2011
- ^ "Erebus Motorsport On The V8 Supercar Grid In 2013". v8supercars.com.au. Telstra BigPond. 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- ^ "Erebus Motorsport completes SBR take over" speedcafe.com 8 January 2013
External links [edit]
- Stone Brothers Racing Official Website
- V8 Supercars Official Website
- Ingall and Caltex leave Stone Brothers Racing
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