Stone Brothers Racing
# Stone Brothers Racing

Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship between 1998 and 2012. The team was formed in 1998 when Ross and Jim Stone bought Alan Jones's shares in Alan Jones Racing and renamed it Stone Brothers Racing.

The team won the Bathurst 1000 in its debut year with Jason Bright and Steven Richards. It won the 2003 and 2004 championships with Marcos Ambrose and the 2005 championship with Russell 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 in Yatala on the Gold Coast. Their nominated test track was initially Lakeside Raceway and later Queensland Raceway.

At the end of 2012, the team was sold to Erebus Motorsport.

## History

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 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.

Now a single car team under the name Stone Brothers Racing, the team signed 1997 Bathurst 1000 co-driver Jason Bright to drive a Pirtek sponsored Ford EL Falcon for the 1998 season. The team also ran a customer car for Larkham Motor Sport with Mark Larkham, essentially 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 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 Larkham Motor Sport went out on its own. The team expanded to a two-car operation for 2000, with Craig Baird taking over the Pirtek car, and Tony Longhurst the new Caltex sponsored entry. In a lean year, the team's best finish was a third for Baird at the opening Phillip Island round, although Longhurst and co-driver David Besnard lead the Queensland 500 for a period and late in the Bathurst 1000 until tangling with another car.

SBR then opted for some young talent for 2001, 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 two round wins between them; a Queensland 500 victory for Besnard and Simon Wills, and a dominant win at the final round at Sandown for Ambrose.

In 2003, Ambrose continued to drive the Pirtek sponsored Falcon, with Russell 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 the Development Series in a SBR Ford AU Falcon.

This dominance continued in 2004, 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 a Sandown 500 victory for Ambrose and Greg Ritter, with Ingall and Cameron McLean finishing second.

In 2005, 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 the Bathurst 1000 with Greg Murphy. He went on to finish third behind Ingall and Craig Lowndes. Ambrose took victories in the first and last rounds of the year.

In 2006, Ambrose left V8 Supercars to pursue a career in NASCAR, and Pirtek withdrew its sponsorship. Former F1 Test Driver James Courtney was signed to drive the No. 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 the Bathurst 1000, with Courtney and Glenn Seton third, and Ingall and 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. From the Oran Park round, SBR also entered a customer car for Team Kiwi Racing with Shane van Gisbergen driving.

In 2008, Russell Ingall and Caltex 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 the Bathurst 1000.

In 2009, Courtney and Jeld-Wen were replaced by Alex Davison and Irwin Tools. The team also ran a customer car for Britek Motorsport with Jason Bright driving. In 2010, James Rosenberg Racing replaced Britek Motorsport with Tim Slade driving. In 2011, the driver line-up remained. In 2012, Lee Holdsworth replaced Alex Davison.

## Supercars results

### Car No. 4 results

| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | Position | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2001 | Marcos Ambrose | 4 | Ford | PHI R1 4 | PHI R2 6 | ADE R3 Ret | ADE R4 6 | EAS R5 13 | EAS R6 6 | HDV R7 2 | HDV R8 4 | HDV R9 3 | CAN R10 Ret | CAN R11 2 | CAN R12 Ret | BAR R13 18 | BAR R14 16 | BAR R15 24 | CAL R16 3 | CAL R17 5 | CAL R18 9 | ORA R19 16 | ORA R20 Ret | QLD R21 Ret | WIN R22 5 | WIN R23 3 | BAT R24 Ret | PUK R25 2 | PUK R26 3 | PUK R27 4 | SAN R28 6 | SAN R29 5 | SAN R30 2 | | | | | | | | | 8th | 2086 |
| 2002 | Marcos Ambrose | 4 | Ford | ADE R1 3 | ADE R2 Ret | PHI R3 1 | PHI R4 Ret | EAS R5 2 | EAS R6 2 | EAS R7 4 | HDV R8 3 | HDV R9 9 | HDV R10 5 | CAN R11 4 | CAN R12 6 | CAN R13 20 | BAR R14 6 | BAR R15 24 | BAR R16 10 | ORA R17 4 | ORA R18 2 | WIN R19 2 | WIN R20 4 | QLD R21 5 | BAT R22 21 | SUR R23 2 | SUR R24 Ret | PUK R25 3 | PUK R26 3 | PUK R27 10 | SAN R28 1 | SAN R29 1 | | | | | | | | | | 3rd | 1498 |
| 2003 | Marcos Ambrose | 4 | Ford | ADE R1 1 | ADE R1 Ret | PHI R3 17 | EAS R4 1 | WIN R5 1 | BAR R6 3 | BAR R7 2 | BAR R8 1 | HDV R9 2 | HDV R10 1 | HDV R11 1 | QLD R12 2 | ORA R13 1 | SAN R14 5 | BAT R15 6 | SUR R16 6 | SUR R17 4 | PUK R18 6 | PUK R19 23 | PUK R20 9 | EAS R21 1 | EAS R22 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | 2085 |
| 2004 | Marcos Ambrose | 1 | Ford | ADE R1 1 | ADE R2 1 | EAS R3 7 | PUK R4 1 | PUK R5 3 | PUK R6 3 | HDV R7 3 | HDV R8 13 | HDV R9 2 | BAR R10 3 | BAR R11 4 | BAR R12 3 | QLD R13 1 | WIN R14 26 | ORA R15 2 | ORA R16 1 | SAN R17 1 | BAT R18 4 | SUR R19 1 | SUR R20 2 | SYM R21 2 | SYM R22 1 | SYM R23 Ret | EAS R24 1 | EAS R25 1 | EAS R26 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | 2174 |
| 2005 | Marcos Ambrose | 1 | Ford | ADE R1 1 | ADE R2 1 | PUK R3 5 | PUK R4 3 | PUK R5 4 | BAR R6 2 | BAR R7 5 | BAR R8 3 | EAS R9 1 | EAS R10 2 | SHA R11 5 | SHA R12 4 | SHA R13 12 | HDV R14 4 | HDV R15 28 | HDV R16 9 | QLD R17 2 | ORA R18 4 | ORA R19 2 | SAN R20 14 | BAT R21 Ret | SUR R22 Ret | SUR R23 26 | SUR R24 11 | SYM R25 4 | SYM R26 27 | SYM R27 6 | PHI R28 3 | PHI R29 1 | PHI R30 1 | | | | | | | | | 3rd | 1856 |
| 2006 | James Courtney | 4 | Ford | ADE R1 Ret | ADE R2 Ret | PUK R3 8 | PUK R4 18 | PUK R5 8 | BAR R6 12 | BAR R7 5 | BAR R8 Ret | WIN R9 15 | WIN R10 Ret | WIN R11 27 | HDV R12 16 | HDV R13 6 | HDV R14 23 | QLD R15 3 | QLD R16 3 | QLD R17 Ret | ORA R18 9 | ORA R19 8 | ORA R20 3 | SAN R21 9 | BAT R22 3 | SUR R23 17 | SUR R24 12 | SUR R25 6 | SYM R26 5 | SYM R27 13 | SYM R28 Ret | BHR R29 5 | BHR R30 24 | BHR R31 7 | PHI R32 9 | PHI R33 Ret | PHI R34 12 | | | | | 11th | 2347 |
| 2007 | James Courtney | 4 | Ford | ADE R1 2 | ADE R2 3 | BAR R3 11 | BAR R4 Ret | BAR R5 Ret | PUK R6 9 | PUK R7 5 | PUK R8 3 | WIN R9 17 | WIN R10 15 | WIN R11 8 | EAS R12 Ret | EAS R13 14 | EAS R14 8 | HDV R15 16 | HDV R16 Ret | HDV R17 DNS | QLD R18 3 | QLD R19 4 | QLD R20 18 | ORA R21 19 | ORA R22 7 | ORA R23 Ret | SAN R24 16 | BAT R25 2 | SUR R26 6 | SUR R27 15 | SUR R28 4 | BHR R29 6 | BHR R30 2 | BHR R31 2 | SYM R32 28 | SYM R33 8 | SYM R34 6 | PHI R35 12 | PHI R36 7 | PHI R37 6 | | 9th | 359 |
| 2008 | James Courtney | 4 | Ford | ADE R1 16 | ADE R2 Ret | EAS R3 5 | EAS R4 15 | EAS R5 Ret | HAM R6 4 | HAM R7 3 | HAM R8 3 | BAR R9 20 | BAR R10 7 | BAR R11 8 | SAN R12 6 | SAN R13 4 | SAN R14 3 | HDV R15 10 | HDV R16 23 | HDV R17 7 | QLD R18 1 | QLD R19 6 | QLD R20 2 | WIN R21 9 | WIN R22 9 | WIN R23 25 | PHI Q 3 | PHI R24 6 | BAT R25 3 | SUR R26 9 | SUR R27 11 | SUR R28 Ret | BHR R29 5 | BHR R30 7 | BHR R31 2 | SYM R32 Ret | SYM R33 17 | SYM R34 10 | ORA R35 5 | ORA R36 6 | ORA R37 4 | 6th | 2446 |
| 2012 | Lee Holdsworth | 4 | Ford | ADE R1 5 | ADE R2 8 | SYM R3 9 | SYM R4 6 | HAM R5 13 | HAM R6 6 | BAR R7 4 | BAR R8 5 | BAR R9 21 | PHI R10 5 | PHI R11 9 | HID R12 10 | HID R13 12 | TOW R14 9 | TOW R15 26 | QLD R16 26 | QLD R17 Ret | SMP R18 26 | SMP R19 21 | SAN Q 13 | SAN R20 8 | BAT R21 8 | SUR R22 Ret | SUR R23 8 | YMC R24 5 | YMC R25 8 | YMC R26 8 | WIN R27 3 | WIN R28 10 | SYD R29 DNS | SYD R30 12 | | | | | | | | 8th | 2189 |

### Car No. 9 results

| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | Position | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2001 | David Besnard | 9 | Ford | PHI R1 | PHI R2 | ADE R3 | ADE R4 | EAS R5 | EAS R6 | HDV R7 | HDV R8 | HDV R9 | CAN R10 | CAN R11 | CAN R12 | BAR R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | CAL R16 | CAL R17 | CAL R18 | ORA R19 | ORA R20 | QLD R21 | WIN R22 | WIN R23 | BAT R24 | PUK R25 | PUK R26 | PUK R27 | SAN R28 | SAN R29 | SAN R30 | | | | | | | | | 23rd | 1153 |
| 2002 | David Besnard | 9 | Ford | PHI R3 | PHI R4 | EAS R5 | EAS R6 | EAS R7 | HDV R8 | HDV R9 | HDV R10 | CAN R11 | CAN R12 | CAN R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | BAR R16 | ORA R17 | ORA R18 | WIN R19 | WIN R20 | QLD R21 | BAT R22 | SUR R23 | SUR R24 | PUK R25 | PUK R26 | PUK R27 | SAN R28 | SAN R29 | | | | | | | | | | | | 8th | 988 |
| 2003 | Russell Ingall | 9 | Ford | ADE R1 7 | ADE R1 12 | PHI R3 10 | EAS R4 3 | WIN R5 4 | BAR R6 5 | BAR R7 27 | BAR R8 14 | HDV R9 Ret | HDV R10 17 | HDV R11 8 | QLD R12 1 | ORA R13 8 | SAN R14 5 | BAT R15 6 | SUR R16 1 | SUR R17 1 | PUK R18 19 | PUK R19 26 | PUK R20 10 | EAS R21 DSQ | EAS R22 DSQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 7th | 1701 |
| 2004 | Russell Ingall | 9 | Ford | ADE R1 3 | ADE R2 Ret | EAS R3 14 | PUK R4 12 | PUK R5 7 | PUK R6 7 | HDV R7 1 | HDV R8 11 | HDV R9 5 | BAR R10 9 | BAR R11 17 | BAR R12 13 | QLD R13 4 | WIN R14 4 | ORA R15 3 | ORA R16 4 | SAN R17 2 | BAT R18 6 | SUR R19 25 | SUR R20 10 | SYM R21 7 | SYM R22 5 | SYM R23 5 | EAS R24 7 | EAS R25 9 | EAS R26 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2nd | 1936 |
| 2005 | Russell Ingall | 9 | Ford | ADE R1 2 | ADE R2 18 | PUK R3 2 | PUK R4 2 | PUK R5 2 | BAR R6 4 | BAR R7 2 | BAR R8 1 | EAS R9 5 | EAS R10 6 | SHA R11 13 | SHA R12 6 | SHA R13 26 | HDV R14 14 | HDV R15 4 | HDV R16 Ret | QLD R17 4 | ORA R18 2 | ORA R19 1 | SAN R20 7 | BAT R21 5 | SUR R22 4 | SUR R23 10 | SUR R24 24 | SYM R25 8 | SYM R26 9 | SYM R27 10 | PHI R28 5 | PHI R29 5 | PHI R30 5 | | | | | | | | | 1st | 1922 |
| 2006 | Russell Ingall | 1 | Ford | ADE R1 9 | ADE R2 7 | PUK R3 2 | PUK R4 6 | PUK R5 5 | BAR R6 10 | BAR R7 8 | BAR R8 6 | WIN R9 12 | WIN R10 5 | WIN R11 25 | HDV R12 10 | HDV R13 7 | HDV R14 9 | QLD R15 5 | QLD R16 9 | QLD R17 5 | ORA R18 12 | ORA R19 5 | ORA R20 21 | SAN R21 27 | BAT R22 4 | SUR R23 8 | SUR R24 8 | SUR R25 5 | SYM R26 14 | SYM R27 10 | SYM R28 10 | BHR R29 13 | BHR R30 21 | BHR R31 10 | PHI R32 14 | PHI R33 26 | PHI R34 30 | | | | | 8th | 2708 |
| 2007 | Russell Ingall | 9 | Ford | ADE R1 8 | ADE R2 4 | BAR R3 24 | BAR R4 14 | BAR R5 10 | PUK R6 8 | PUK R7 9 | PUK R8 10 | WIN R9 Ret | WIN R10 8 | WIN R11 6 | EAS R12 7 | EAS R13 11 | EAS R14 12 | HDV R15 Ret | HDV R16 Ret | HDV R17 11 | QLD R18 9 | QLD R19 6 | QLD R20 9 | ORA R21 Ret | ORA R22 9 | ORA R23 3 | SAN R24 7 | BAT R25 Ret | SUR R26 4 | SUR R27 3 | SUR R28 3 | BHR R29 5 | BHR R30 8 | BHR R31 7 | SYM R32 16 | SYM R33 30 | SYM R34 13 | PHI R35 8 | PHI R36 19 | PHI R37 26 | | 11th | 311 |
| 2008 | Shane van Gisbergen | 9 | Ford | ADE R1 12 | ADE R2 5 | EAS R3 17 | EAS R4 27 | EAS R5 17 | HAM R6 21 | HAM R7 26 | HAM R8 10 | BAR R9 Ret | BAR R10 10 | BAR R11 12 | SAN R12 9 | SAN R13 2 | SAN R14 4 | HDV R15 12 | HDV R16 15 | HDV R17 9 | QLD R18 17 | QLD R19 21 | QLD R20 17 | WIN R21 14 | WIN R22 22 | WIN R23 12 | PHI Q 5 | PHI R24 10 | BAT R25 Ret | SUR R26 17 | SUR R27 13 | SUR R28 Ret | BHR R29 7 | BHR R30 26 | BHR R31 10 | SYM R32 5 | SYM R33 Ret | SYM R34 DSQ | ORA R35 Ret | ORA R36 13 | ORA R37 5 | 15th | 1614 |
| 2009 | Shane van Gisbergen | 9 | Ford | ADE R1 6 | ADE R2 13 | HAM R3 17 | HAM R4 15 | WIN R5 6 | WIN R6 12 | SYM R7 6 | SYM R8 20 | HDV R9 20 | HDV R10 9 | TOW R11 12 | TOW R12 Ret | SAN R13 15 | SAN R14 Ret | QLD R15 9 | QLD R16 12 | PHI Q 4 | PHI R17 10 | BAT R18 13 | SUR R19 5 | SUR R20 7 | SUR R21 19 | SUR R22 11 | PHI R23 5 | PHI R24 6 | BAR R25 15 | BAR R26 13 | SYD R27 10 | SYD R28 6 | | | | | | | | | | 12th | 1970 |
| 2010 | Shane van Gisbergen | 9 | Ford | YMC R1 6 | YMC R2 3 | BHR R3 5 | BHR R4 3 | ADE R5 22 | ADE R6 4 | HAM R7 Ret | HAM R8 7 | QLD R9 3 | QLD R10 3 | WIN R11 5 | WIN R12 12 | HDV R13 3 | HDV R14 3 | TOW R15 8 | TOW R16 7 | PHI Q 3 | PHI R17 27 | BAT R18 9 | SUR R19 3 | SUR R20 2 | SYM R21 13 | SYM R22 11 | SAN R23 9 | SAN R24 Ret | SYD R25 Ret | SYD R26 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | 6th | 2391 |
| 2011 | Shane van Gisbergen | 9 | Ford | YMC R1 4 | YMC R2 8 | ADE R3 13 | ADE R4 18 | HAM R5 16 | HAM R6 1 | BAR R7 4 | BAR R8 10 | BAR R9 7 | WIN R10 14 | WIN R11 4 | HID R12 7 | HID R13 1 | TOW R14 11 | TOW R15 5 | QLD R16 11 | QLD R17 8 | QLD R18 3 | PHI Q 1 | PHI R19 5 | BAT R20 6 | SUR R21 16 | SUR R22 16 | SYM R23 7 | SYM R24 7 | SAN R25 5 | SAN R26 6 | SYD R27 3 | SYD R28 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 2672 |
| 2012 | Shane van Gisbergen | 9 | Ford | ADE R1 11 | ADE R2 6 | SYM R3 4 | SYM R4 2 | HAM R5 22 | HAM R6 10 | BAR R7 7 | BAR R8 11 | BAR R9 18 | PHI R10 2 | PHI R11 4 | HID R12 7 | HID R13 7 | TOW R14 22 | TOW R15 7 | QLD R16 7 | QLD R17 7 | SMP R18 7 | SMP R19 13 | SAN Q 1 | SAN R20 5 | BAT R21 12 | SUR R22 10 | SUR R23 9 | YMC R24 3 | YMC R25 3 | YMC R26 4 | WIN R27 Ret | WIN R28 4 | SYD R29 Ret | SYD R30 Ret | | | | | | | | | 6th | 2554 |

## Drivers

* 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)

## Super2 drivers

* David Besnard (2000)
* Mark Winterbottom (2003)
* Jonathon Webb (2007–2008)
* John McIntyre (2010)
* Scott McLaughlin (2010–2012)

## The Stone Brothers

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. In 1986 the Stones engineered a Holden VK Commodore for Graeme Crosby and in 1987 they engineered the Nissan Skyline DR30s of Team Nissan New Zealand for Kent Baigent and Graham Bowkett.

In 1988/89 Ross engineered Andrew Miedecke's Ford Sierra RS500, and in 1990/91 a Sierra for Kevin Waldock's Playscape Racing. During the same era, Jim worked for Tony Longhurst Racing.

Both were reunited at Dick Johnson Racing in 1992 running Sierras and later Falcons overseeing victory in 1994 at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 endurance races. They also masterminded John Bowe's 1995 series and Sandown 500 wins.

In 1996 they formed Alan Jones Racing with former world champion, Alan Jones. The brothers bought out Jones' share in the team after two seasons and the team was renamed Stone Brothers Racing in 1998. After selling the team to Erebus Motorsport at the end of 2012, Ross stayed on as team manager until the end of 2014, while Jim is running Matt Stone Racing in the Development Series with his son. Ross has since begun his own team, Ross Stone Racing running an Aston Martin in GT racing for Andrew Miedecke.

