Motorsport: Precious for Stones at V8s 

The Big Aussie bangers may well return to Pukekohe but Marcos Ambrose has no time to waste on second chances. The defending V8 Supercars champion will relinquish the best seat in the house at the end of the season as he tries to cement a full-time seat in NASCAR.

If Ambrose achieves what many believe is one of the most difficult transitions in world motor sport, he will become only the third big-name Australian racing driver behind Dick Johnson and Allan Grice to join the good ol' boys Stateside.

So Ambrose has gritted his teeth this weekend in order to deliver his employers, Ross and Jimmy Stone, what may not be the most important win of their distinguished careers but certainly the most symbolic. A win at Pukekohe for the Stone brothers would revive memories of a childhood spent building go-karts at nearby Onewhero.

The task became tougher after yesterday's opening 36-lap race when Ambrose finished fifth after a difficult day at the office. But there are two races today, enough time to seek redemption.

While Greg Murphy, the prince of Pukekohe, continued his amazing run of success at the circuit, Ambrose has not lost hope of coming from behind in the longer 50-lap heats today. Ambrose jostled with Triple 8 driver and pole-sitter Craig Lowndes at the start before the pair made contact on turn four with Lowndes spinning off the circuit.

Ambrose came away from the dust and smoke with the lead but his race turned upside down on lap eight in an altercation with Steve Richards (Castrol Holden).

The Stone Brothers have built a motor racing dynasty out of sheer hard work, passion and the fact they operate so effectively because they are racers at heart.

While V8 Supercar organisers have not entirely ruled out abandoning Pukekohe in their pursuit of a street circuit, there is no guarantee the Ford and Holden V8s will return to the 2.8km circuit.

"If I can deliver one thing to Ross and Jimmy for everything they've done for me over the past four years it would be to deliver them a round victory at their home track," said Ambrose.

This is an important race for them and for the entire SBR team. The Stone Brothers are fiercely proud of their Kiwi heritage. Ross won the New Zealand Gold Star title in 1977-78 in a Cuda Formula Pacific that was designed by himself and Jimmy.

Ironically the Stone siblings are probably better known in Australia than their country of birth.

Their handiwork was rewarded in 1995 when John Bowe steered the Dick Johnson Racing Ford to victory in the Australian Touring Car Championship in a Falcon engineered by the brothers.

Part of the formula of SBR's success is loyalty with employee stability unmatched in the series.

The entire SBR squad consists of 52 people with many working directly out of its Yatala base, halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the heartland of V8 Supercars.

It is the epitome of an Antipodean business with an even balance of Kiwi and Australian employees.

"What we have in our team is great stability and the mix is roughly 50/50 as far as the make up between Aussies and Kiwis is concerned," Ross Stone said.

"That is a very unique combination of multi-skilled individuals and luckily we have been able to keep the team quite stable since we started out.

"Its an extremely good chemistry for any team and we try to make the whole operation as friendly as possible for everyone involved."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY