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.”
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