MOTORSPORT: V8 legends bow out

Stone Brothers Racing, one of the greatest teams in Australian touring car racing history, will transform into Erebus Motorsport for the 2013 V8Supercar season.

And team co-owner Jimmy Stone, widely regarded as one of the best engineers to ever work in Australian motor racing, will retire from full-time competition.

These are two of the key changes resulting from the deal between Erebus and SBR announced back in September to run a customer Mercedes-Benz V8Supercar program.

Then it was unclear quite how the arrangement – variously dubbed as a merger and partnership - would work. But it is now becoming apparent this is a takeover.

The business structure is emerging as the construction of three E63 AMG V8Supercars based on new car of the future technical regulations continue apace at SBR’s Yatala headquarters and at AMG’s motorsport partner, HWA, in Germany.

Apart from Jimmy Stone, who will link up with son Matt to run a Falcon development series program, the key personnel at SBR are being retained to prepare and race the Benzes. That includes his brother Ross Stone, who has committed to stay on for a minimum two years to manage racing operations.

However, with Erebus CEO Ryan Maddison moving into SBR’s Yatala headquarters on the Gold Coast to manage the financials and look after the relationships with Mercedes-Benz Australia and AMG Customer Sports in Germany on behalf of Erebus owner and project funder, multi-millionaire real estate tycoon Betty Klimenko, the new structure is clear.

“There has been plenty of suggestion whether it is going to Erebus-SBR or SBR-Erebus as a name … the intention of what Erebus Motorsport is doing is not to be a major sponsor in V8Supercars next year, it is to be a V8Supercar entity,” Mr Maddison said.

“Therefore in doing that we want to make sure that it is an Erebus Motorsport team.”

Elements of the deal that are known to motoring.com.au include an agreement for Erebus to purchase one Racing Entitlements Contract (REC) from the Stone brothers and lease their other one for two years under a service agreement. The third entry will continue to be underpinned by a REC supplied by South Australian businessman James Rosenberg.

Other aspects of the financial structure – such as contractual arrangements with SBR employees, current drivers Lee Holdsworth and Tim Slade and sponsors including Irwin Tools and SP Tools – are yet to be confirmed publicly.

However, Mr Maddison said that the intention was to impact as little as possible on the racing nous of SBR, which in 15 years as a Ford team had won three drivers’ championships and 41 races including the 1998 Bathurst 1000.

“Erebus Motorsport will bring the factory-level administration that Stone Brothers currently don’t hold,” he explained. “For us to bring AMG branding means there are certain pre-requisites, expectations and criteria going forward that need to be met.

“We will insert some of those aspects into the race team, but, we don’t intend to insert new staff and create overkill considering how fragile the performance within V8Supercars is on-track. We are frightfully aware how critical that is. We only intend to add strength … to their existing on-track performance.”

Right now, however, it is off-track where the focus is for the team, which is deep within the throes of constructing three cars in time for the February 16 public test at Eastern Creek.

The first E-Class body panels arrived on November 20, and the first 5.0-litre engines based on the M159 6.2-litre V8, are scheduled to land in Queensland on December 20. Three chassis should be painted and ready for assembly around the same time.

The first racer should be close to completion by the time the facelifted production car is revealed just prior to the Detroit motor show on January 10. The first shakedown run is set for late January and aero testing against the new Holden Commodore VF Commodore, Nissan Altima and Ford Falcon should happen in early February.

The E-Class body has to be shortened and slightly narrowed to fit on the CotF template, but it is a cut and shut job not too dissimilar from the team’s experience with Falcon. The engine fits comfortably and the upright body means aero parity will be in the ballpark with the Ford and Holden, unlike the super-slick Nissan, which has had plenty of drag added.

Ross Stone said the development and construction process - considering the various strands that have to be assembled together in short time - had progressed well.

“We may be a little underdone going into the Clipsal just because of the timeline,” Mr Stone said. “But I think we will recover from that. We want to be challenging for wins. Everybody does, we shouldn’t be doing this if we don’t. I think the depth of planning is there that we will be able to work through it.”

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