 | |
| Team Principal | Ross Stone Jim Stone |
|---|---|
| Debut | 1998 |
| Final Season | 2012 |
| Round wins | 23 |
| Pole positions | 27 |
| 2012 position | 3rd (4743 points) |
Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australianmotor racing team that competed in theSupercars Championship between 1998 and 2012. The team was formed in 1998 when Ross and Jim Stone boughtAlan Jones's shares inAlan Jones Racing and renamed it Stone Brothers Racing.
The team won theBathurst 1000 in its debut year withJason Bright andSteven Richards. It won the2003 and2004 championships withMarcos Ambrose and the2005 championship withRussell Ingall. SBR won the Teams Championship (combined points of both cars) in 2003, 2004 and 2005, the 2004 V8 Supercars Series being a 1–2 finish.
The team was based inYatala on theGold Coast.[1] Their nominated test track was initiallyLakeside Raceway and laterQueensland Raceway.
At the end of 2012, the team was sold toErebus Motorsport.[2][3]
Ross and Jim Stone, two New Zealand-born brothers, were the team manager and chief engineer of SBR respectively. Ross won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship twice in the 1970s. In1986 the Stones engineered aHolden VK Commodore forGraeme Crosby[4] and in1987 they engineered theNissan Skyline DR30s of Team Nissan New Zealand for Kent Baigent and Graham Bowkett.[5]
In1988/89 Ross engineered Andrew Miedecke'sFord Sierra RS500,[6][7] and in1990/91 a Sierra for Kevin Waldock'sPlayscape Racing.[8][9] During the same era, Jim worked forTony Longhurst Racing.
Both were reunited atDick Johnson Racing in 1992 running Sierras and later Falcons overseeing victory in1994 at theSandown 500 andBathurst 1000 endurance races. They also mastermindedJohn Bowe's1995 series andSandown 500 wins.[10][11]
The Stone Brothers Racing team was originally formed asAlan 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 thePack Leader Racing identity with Paul Romano as No. 2 driver, the team had several title sponsors in 1997 before the Stone brothers bought out Jones' stake at the end of the year.[12][13]
Now a single car team under the name Stone Brothers Racing, the team signed1997 Bathurst 1000 co-driverJason Bright to drive aPirtek sponsoredFord EL Falcon for the1998 season. The team also ran a customer car forLarkham Motor Sport withMark Larkham, essentially a full team-mate to Bright. Bright and Larkham had a mixed year, with the highlight being a win in theBathurst 1000 with co-driverSteven 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 car of Larkham andBrad Jones who still managed to finish fourth.[14] The team continued to show promise in1999, with Bright scoring three poles, and three podiums including a win at theHidden Valley Raceway round.[15]
Bright left the team to pursue opportunities in the United States and Larkham Motor Sport went out on its own. The team expanded to a two-car operation for2000, withCraig Baird taking over the Pirtek car, andTony Longhurst the newCaltex sponsored entry. In a lean year, the team's best finish was a third for Baird at the openingPhillip Island round, although Longhurst and co-driverDavid Besnard lead theQueensland 500 for a period and late in theBathurst 1000 until tangling with another car.[16]
SBR then opted for some young talent for2001, withMarcos Ambrose andDavid 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 two round wins between them; aQueensland 500 victory for Besnard andSimon Wills, and a dominant win at the final round atSandown for Ambrose.
In2003, Ambrose continued to drive the Pirtek sponsored Falcon, withRussell Ingall recruited to drive the Caltex car. SBR was the dominant force, with Ambrose winning the championship and Ingall finishing seventh. Between them they won eight of thirteen rounds (6 to Ambrose, 2 for Ingall). Ambrose took 5 pole positions. Meanwhile,Mark Winterbottom won theDevelopment Series in a SBRFord AU Falcon.
This dominance continued in2004, with Ambrose winning a second championship and Ingall finishing 2nd overall. The team recorded 6 round wins – 5 to Ambrose and 1 to Ingall. Among these round victories was aSandown 500 victory for Ambrose andGreg Ritter, with Ingall and Cameron McLean finishing second.
In2005, Ingall won the championship through consistency and strategy, rather than outright speed and wins were crucial with Ingall only recording one round win. Ambrose had led the championship until he was involved in an incident in theBathurst 1000 withGreg Murphy. He went on to finish third behind Ingall andCraig Lowndes. Ambrose took victories in the first and last rounds of the year.
In2006, Ambrose leftV8 Supercars to pursue a career inNASCAR, and Pirtek withdrew its sponsorship. Former F1 Test DriverJames Courtney was signed to drive the No. 4 car, now sponsored byJeld-Wen. Ingall continued in the Caltex entry, but could not 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 theBathurst 1000, with Courtney andGlenn Seton third, and Ingall andLuke Youlden coming in fourth.
Ingall and Courtney continued driving for SBR in 2007, which proved to be an inconsistent season. Courtney scored round podiums inAdelaide,Bathurst andBahrain, and a pole position in Adelaide; while Ingall managed a podium on theGold Coast. From theOran Park round, SBR also entered a customer car forTeam Kiwi Racing withShane van Gisbergen driving.
In2008,Russell Ingall andCaltex both left the team, being replaced by Shane van Gisbergen and SP Tools. Courtney broke through for his first race win in the series at the team's test track,Queensland Raceway and with David Besnard finished third at theBathurst 1000.
In2009, Courtney and Jeld-Wen were replaced byAlex Davison and Irwin Tools. The team also ran a customer car forBritek Motorsport withJason Bright driving. In2010,James Rosenberg Racing replaced Britek Motorsport withTim Slade driving.[17][18] In2011, the driver line-up remained. In2012,Lee Holdsworth replaced Alex Davison.[19]
After selling the team toErebus Motorsport at the end of 2012, Ross stayed on as team manager until the end of 2014,[20] while Jim is runningMatt Stone Racing in theDevelopment Series with his son.[21] Ross has since begun his own team,Ross Stone Racing running anAston Martin in GT racing forAndrew Miedecke.
Jason Bright (1998 – 1999)Mark Larkham (1998)
Craig Baird (2000)Tony Longhurst (2000)Marcos Ambrose (2001 – 2005)David Besnard (2001 – 2002)Wayne Gardner (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)David Besnard (2000)Mark Winterbottom (2003)Jonathon Webb (2007–2008)John McIntyre (2010)Scott McLaughlin (2010–2012)