Stone Brothers Racing sign James Courtney.

Yatala, Queensland: Monday 31st October 2005: James Courtney, one of the world’s most exciting young racing car drivers, has decided to make Stone Brothers Racing, Ford and the V8 Supercar Championship Series his home in a major coup for one of the world’s leading touring car teams.

The talented Courtney, 25, has turned his back on a lucrative racing career in Japan to return to Australia and replace current V8 Supercar Champion Marcos Ambrose in the Ford Falcon of Stone Brothers Racing.

The announcement that Courtney has teamed up with Stone Brothers Racing has been coupled with news that the team has secured a co-naming rights sponsor in JELD-WEN, replacing the long and highly successful partnership with Pirtek, and joining Ford and Caltex as the major sponsors of the two-car operation.

JELD-WEN is a global business leader in the manufacture of windows and doors for homes with business interests in Australia that include the Stegbar and Corinthian brands.

The sponsorship delivers an unbeatable platform for those brands to develop and also to strengthen key relationships with customers and suppliers in the building and construction sector.

“It is well known that supporters of the V8 Supercar series are loyal to the sport. This sponsorship gives JELD-WEN an immediate captive audience and will help to make that brand a recognisable entity in our key markets,” Stegbar Managing Director Nigel Lapping said.

“The V8 Supercar Series is broadcast to a national and international audience and gains wide coverage not only in sporting publications and television programs, but state and national newspapers, magazines and online publications - this exposure makes this sponsorship a sound investment.

“This benefits JELD-WEN by creating brand exposure to a diverse audience.”

For Courtney timing has proved everything.

“This last couple of weeks has been amazing as we had some incredible offers both in Japan and Australia for 2006 onwards so the pressure was really on to decide where I would go. But only on Thursday was the decision actually made and the contract signed.”

“Having raced around the world, I’m now really looking forward to racing in my own country. The timing was spot-on; the championship is great, the team is great, the car is great….it certainly ticked all the right boxes for me.” said Courtney, a dual World Karting Champion and Jaguar Formula One test driver.

Courtney’s prized signing is a coup for Stone Brothers Racing. He had been courted by many V8 Supercar Championship Series teams plus had international offers on the table.

“The offer from both SBR and Ford was one that we simply couldn’t refuse. Ross and Jimmy Stone are (like me) real racers through-and-through and they always produce the goods.”

“It’s a whole new era for SBR and myself. They have a new team sponsor in JELD-WEN, a brand-new car with the BF Falcon and a new driver. And me? Well…..I have a new everything! But I know that, together, we can really achieve something”.

Stone Brothers Racing boss Ross Stone said Courtney had become a priority signing for the team soon after he made his debut at the Super Cheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst earlier this month.

“We have followed James’ career with great interest for a number of years. Since his move from Formula cars to GT cars in Japan we have kept an even closer eye on James’ racing.”

“It was during one of the early practice sessions that Jimmy (co-owner Jimmy Stone) and I were watching with interest the lap times of all the drivers,” Ross Stone said.

“Very early in the first session James’ lap times flashed up and Jimmy and I turned to each other and without saying a word we both knew that James had to be a priority signing for us.”

“To run the way he did so early at such a difficult track proved the caliber of driver he is. Marcos is a very hard driver to replace and leaves a great legacy but we believe that James can match his feats in the years to come.”

JELD-WEN was the only window or door manufacturer to be named 2003 Energy Star "Partner of the Year" by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. It is the parent company of Australian window and shower screen manufacturer Stegbar and door manufacturer Corinthian Doors.

“JELD-WEN has established a strong association with Stone Brothers Racing as a result of Stegbar’s sponsorship of Marcos Ambrose and the SBR team over the past four years,” Lapping said.

“During this time, we have established and built the relationship with SBR to produce the number one race team and driver on the V8 circuit. We’ve leveraged the sponsorship strategically across our business and it has proved to be a winning formula both on and off the track.

“Like the JELD-WEN business, SBR is a family business that shares a like minded vision focused on winning and they don’t mind pushing the envelope to achieve that. Anyone with a focus on competing and winning would want to be aligned with Ross and Jimmy Stone and we are looking forward to working more closely with them to build on our already successful partnership.

“This sponsorship will play a key role in building awareness for the JELD-WEN brand here in Australia and the Asia Pacific Rim with the V8 Supercar Series delivering a presence in every state all year round.”

Lapping said the recruitment of Courtney fitted perfectly with the company’s plans.

“I met James for the first time this week and I’ve been impressed with his young clean image, his competitive drive, modesty and humility. He is a fresh face ideally suited to launch the JELD-WEN brand in Australia. I am extremely confident that he has the driving ability, track record and potential to go all the way to the top of the ladder in the series and I’m looking forward to watching the success of this extraordinary young man.”

Equally the partnership with JELD-WEN adds another dimension to Stone Brothers Racing and the Series in that another non-traditional Motorsport company has seen the great value in backing a leading V8 Supercar team.

“Bringing JELD-WEN on-board gives the team an entire new dimension, adding to our already strong and successful partnership with Caltex,” Stone said.

“JELD-WEN is a massive global company that we are very proud to have on-board. We anticipate a fantastic mutual relationship that will span many years to come.”

Who? Never herd of him:(.

He drove the enduros this year with Jim Richards in Toddlers car, and was right on the pace from the first time he got in the car at Bathurst. Even the mistake he made that took him out of the car was followed up by Lowndes doing the same thing so hes got some talent there.

Looks like hes getting this years spare car though and Ambroses championship winner's going into the museum. On the news they had the car all ready and livered up with the #4 back on the side so it makes sense. I thought TEGA rejected the proposed BF upgrade though, unless Ford revised their proposal. ...

[QUOTE=fpv_gtho]He drove the enduros this year with Jim Richards in Toddlers car, and was right on the pace from the first time he got in the car at Bathurst. Even the mistake he made that took him out of the car was followed up by Lowndes doing the same thing so hes got some talent there.

Looks like hes getting this years spare car though and Ambroses championship winner's going into the museum. On the news they had the car all ready and livered up with the #4 back on the side so it makes sense. I thought TEGA rejected the proposed BF upgrade though, unless Ford revised their proposal. ...[/QUOTE]


I believe Ambrose has been driving the same BA Falcon since the start of 2003! Correct me if I'm wrong.

[QUOTE=fpv_gtho]He drove the enduros this year with Jim Richards in Toddlers car, and was right on the pace from the first time he got in the car at Bathurst. Even the mistake he made that took him out of the car was followed up by Lowndes doing the same thing so hes got some talent there.

Looks like hes getting this years spare car though and Ambroses championship winner's going into the museum. On the news they had the car all ready and livered up with the #4 back on the side so it makes sense. I thought TEGA rejected the proposed BF upgrade though, unless Ford revised their proposal. ...[/QUOTE]
I still can't pick him but it's harder there keeping up with all the drivers you focus more on the top5 when they go past it's hard.

[QUOTE=fpv_gtho] I thought TEGA rejected the proposed BF upgrade though, unless Ford revised their proposal. ...[/QUOTE]

really!!
what was the reason for the rejection?

[QUOTE=fpv_gtho]
Looks like hes getting this years spare car though and Ambroses championship winner's going into the museum. On the news they had the car all ready and livered up with the #4 back on the side so it makes sense. ...[/QUOTE]

My understanding is that Courtney will drive a brand new car that SBR has just completed. It was standby should either of the regular cars be damaged beyond repair. Guess the Bathurst crash wasn't bad enough to justify putting Ambrose in the new car.
The car used for the press conference to announce the sponsor and driver may have been the spare, though.

[QUOTE=F6 TORNADO]I believe Ambrose has been driving the same BA Falcon since the start of 2003! Correct me if I'm wrong.[/QUOTE]

You're correct, though it has been substantially refurbished along the way.
Its not unusual for teams to be using the same chassis for years in V8 Supercars. Completely new chassis are few and far between.
Last years Bathurst winner - the Murphy/Kelly #15 Commodore (chassis HRT044) was built new as a VX Commodore by HRT back in 2001. It was Jason Bright's car at HRT car until mid way through 2002. It then became Todd Kelly's car at K-Mart for rest of 2002 and Rick Kelly's K-Mart car (still in VX spec) for the first part of 2003. It was then refurbished and updated to VY spec (with Blueprint HMS engine) for 2004 and used throughout the season by Rick Kelly before winning Bathurst. Then sold to Tony D'Alberto for this years HPDC V8 Championship.
Just an example. If you look at virtually any car in the V8 field, most will have been around for a few years. Many of the VZ Commodores started out as VXs or even VTs. None of the BA Falcons would be more than 3 seasons old though, since the AU couldn't be updated to BA spec. Probably explains why there are so many AU Falcons in the HPDC series and a lack of Commodores - most of the top teams seem to hang on to there Commodores for years.
That little bit about the 2004 Bathurst Commodore came from the 2004 Bathurst Year Book - has a great section near the back that explains the race history of each car in the field.

the AU not being able to be brought up to BA spec may have been blessing, because the AU wasn't that great, so a clean sheet may have been the best thing for ford, because the BA has been whooping arse for 3 seasons now

I'd have to go back over the last three years for the exact win ratio for the VY/VZ v BA, but my memory suggests the two cars have been pretty even. Its the teams that make a difference - SBR was the best team in 2003/4 and is still at the top this year along with Triple 888 and HRT (so two Ford and one Holden team). Just as HRT was the best team when the VTs/VXs were doing all the winning.
I'd go as far as to say, look behind the top team/s in any one year and the competition is pretty even. I reckon the VY/VZ and BA have largely achieved parity - you can't say the BA is whooping the Commodore simply because SBR has its act together. You have to look at the whole field.

I think its pretty much SBR having a fast AND consistent package. Neither HRT, PWR or even 888 can get both of those factors together over a string of races it would seem.

With Courtney and the #4 SBR before though, its also possible SBR mocked up a roadgoing BA with the supercar bodykit and simply had that. Its been done countless times with Holden teams especially and the only real giveaway is the 5 lug wheels

This year, Triple 888 has had both a fast and consistent car - as seen in Lowndes late run on the championship. Only a bad Chinese and Adelaide round have cost them. But then SBR had a bad Sandown, Bathurst and Indy round.
Anyone want to guess how short the odds are on Lowndes winning next years championship? And completing his late run to win this years title as well?
I'd give Lowndes a chance at this years title and he'll start as run away favourite for next year.
Also, HRT appears to have got over its problems - and their cars have been fast and consistent this year too - particularly Todd's car.
Seems we may finally have reached a point were 2 or 3 teams all have fast, consistent cars.

I was shocked to hear at bathurst that HRT have won more races or rounds this year then anyone else:eek:.

OK here it is in order (listed in order of race wins):

Lowndes = 5 races wins (1 E.Creek, 1 Qld raceway, 1 Sandown, 2 Indy)/4 round wins (E. Creek, Qld, Sandown, Indy).
Kelly 5 race wins (2 at China, at 2 H. Vally, 1 Bathurst)/3 round wins (China, H. Valley, Bathurst).
Murphy = 4 race wins (3 at Pukekohe, 1 at Indy)/1 round win (Pukekohe).
Ambrose = 3 race wins (2 at Adelaide, 1 at E. Creek)/1 round win (Adelaide).
Skaife = 3 race wins (Barbagello, China, Bathurst)/1 round win (Bathurst).
Richards = 2 race win (Barbagello, Oran Park)/1 round win (Barbagello).
Ingall = 2 race win (Barbagello, Oran Park)/1 round win (Oran Park).
G. Tander 1 race win (H. Valley)/0 round wins.

HRT therefore has 7 race wins and 3 round wins to Triple 888s 5 race wins and 4 round wins.
HRT ahead on the race win count, Triple 888 on round wins.
Also, note the driver leading the championship has just two race wins and one round win - says something for consistentence and the points system that rewards consistency.

Yes so the 2 most dominant drivers don't lead the Championship:D.
Consistency is always the best.
Shows that Holden is winning as much as ford it's just SBR are simply the best and most Consistent team going around.