Jimmy and Ross Stone want their first hometown victory
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6:00 AM Thu 7 April, 2011
Source: BigPond Sport
New Zealand brothers Ross and Jimmy Stone have built Stone Brothers Racing into one of the premier teams in the V8 Supercar series, but despite multiple championships and a Bathurst 1000 crown one thing still eludes them … a hometown victory.
Incredibly in a total of ten visits to Pukekohe Park Raceway and the Hamilton street circuit, the Stone Brothers Racing team has never won a V8 Supercar event in New Zealand.
Marcos Ambrose came closest to achieving the dream - winning a race and finishing second overall at Pukekohe in 2004.
Former SBR driver Russell Ingall also finished second and third outright for the team at Pukekohe in 2005 and 2006 respectively, but since the event’s shift to Hamilton in 2008, James Courtney has been the only SBR driver to stand on the podium.
Team Principal Ross Stone makes no secret of the fact that their maiden V8 Supercar victory in New Zealand is one box the brothers desperately want to tick.
“It’s pretty frustrating, it certainly feels like there is something missing from our list of achievements, ” Ross Stone told BigPond Sport.
“We’ve come close a few times. We were particularly disappointed not to win at Pukekohe because that’s our home track. "
The brothers grew up in Onewhero, close to New Zealand’s Pukekohe Park Raceway and it was their proximity to the racetrack that sparked their interest in motor racing.
“Before we’d even finished school we would spend our weekends at the Pukekohe track. We’d sneak under the fence or find any way we could to get in and watch the racing.
“Sometimes I think our drivers forget that we’ve been around this game for a long time!”
Indeed the brothers have been involved in cars and racing as far back as 1962 … 17 years before their eldest of their current drivers Alex Davison was born!
There is a quiet determination from the team to help the brothers turn their dream into reality, and Ross believes this year is perhaps their best chance of a long awaited hometown victory.
“Based on our results so far this year I think the time is right for us to step up," said Ross.
“All three cars qualified in the top ten at Abu Dhabi and again at the non-championship Albert Park 400.
“Alex, Shane and Tim will all have to sit out the first two practice sessions (reserved for the championship lower half and rookies) so it’s important that we’re on the pace straight out of the box.
“I believe we’ve done our homework, and our cars typically react well to the soft tyre so let’s hope that finally the results fall our way.”
The ITM400 Hamilton will be held at the Hamilton street circuit in New Zealand from April 15 – 17.
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