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Ford are now 1-2 in the ch'ship following the round at Pukekohe. Could be another lean year for the General

After Oran Park, and the poor run by Skaife and his team, it looks like Ford are starting to feel a little comfortable out in front.
If Marcos Ambrose wins the title, he will be the first ford driver to win 3 on the trot since the late Ian Geoghan in a Ford Mustang in the sixties.

Ford may be looking comfortable in the Championship, but it is now 8 years since they have won Bathurst. (source, CH 10 commentary crew)

Pitek, and SBR, have announced that Pirtek will end their successful 8 year partnership with SBR at the end of the season.
Pirtek stated that the relationship has been has been hugely successful, But the company is now targeting different commercial areas.
The Stone Bothers branded them as terrifically loyal sponsors and wished them well.
With Marcos Ambrose also leaving the team at season end it is the end of an era.

On Monday Stone Bros Racing will unveil the new Driver/Sponsor package to replace Ambrose/Pirtek.
The mystery driver is said to be a welcome addition to the ageing ranks of V8 Supercar pilots, with filmstar looks and charm by the bucketful.
Apparantly as soon as word got out that he was available SBR had him signed sealed and secured, beating off a couple of high profile teams in the process.
I wonder if his first name begins with a " J ".?
The new sponsor is said to have the colour blue as its major corporate theme so the new driver/sponsor package will retain links to the Pirtek/Ambrose era
The new BA Ford and Driver/sponsor package will be unveiled at the team headquarters on Monday morning.

SCOOP, the replacement driver for Marcus Ambrose at Stone Bros Racing will be James Courtney.
Russell Ingal has also been re-signed as of Friday night.

Can't wait to see him drive on a perm basis. Should shake things up a bit.

rah wrote:Can't wait to see him drive on a perm basis. Should shake things up a bit.

this guy is one extremely rapid pilot.
I believe the reason the F1 world backed away from him after his (mechanical failure) huge shunt in the the F1Jag was because of the nature of his injuries. He came close to permanent blindness, the Brain swell was enormous, and a lot of F1 people decided he would be too risky.
So he stepped sideways into Japanese single seater racing and blew them away. Simple as that.
I hope to do a bio on him tomorrow.

James Courtney
Born 29 6 1980
started karts 1987
1994 2nd Aust Nat Kat C'ship
1995 Winner Junior World Kart C'ship
Winner CIK Internat. Comp
1996 4th Formula A Kart C'ship
1997 Winner Form. A Kart C'ship
1999 Test Driver Van Diemen Karts
2000 Winner British FF Ch'ship
2001 4th Brit FF Ch'ship
2002 2nd Brit FF Ch'ship....5 wins ....season interrupted by 300kmh accident testing Jag F1 (mechanical failure).
2003 Winner Japanese F3 Ch'ship
2004/5 2nd Japanese GT Ch'ship
2005 Very fast at Bathurst. Electronic failure contributes to DNF.
2005 Signs with Stone Bros Racing.

It is now official that SBR have signed James Courtney, re-signed Russell Ingall, and the new Major Sonsor is Jeld-Well. This is an American company who own Stegbar, which has had limited signage on the Ambrose car.
The thought of James Courtney in a brand new BF Falcon would have more than a few current drivers looking anxiously at the timing towers come the first practice of next season.
This guy has won every championship in every formula in which he has chosen to compete. He currently sits second, eight points behind, in the Japanese GT championship. Yet the strongest emotion coming from this bloke is humility, and refreshing honesty.
At Bathurst Ross n Jimmy Stone were keeping an eye on drivers times when the time of JC flashed up after he had been on track for a few laps. At his first Mountain outing. In a car unlike anything he had driven. In a strange team. On tyres he did not know.
They looked at the time, looked at each other, and without saying a word to each other,knew who they wanted. And made it their priority.
I personally am excited about this bloke. I suspect a couple of drivers will be quietly making plans for different careers by next seasons end.

Ford have won six of the 11 round wins to date.
With the Manufacturers Title decided on round wins, The Blue Oval must win at Symmons Plains or Phillip Island To secure the Title for 2005.
The 3 leading drivers for Ford are Russel Ingall, Marcus Ambrose, and Craig Lowndes, and these three are fighting for the Drivers title.
Based on his performance at Surfers, Craig would no doubt be the popular pick. However I would never write off the Stone Brothers Racing team, who have just concluded a successful test session. The mood in the team is said to be " buoyant, and quietly confidant". Ambrose is racing on home soil, tho I doubt he needs more stimulus to win than having the title so close to his grasp.
A fly in the ointment for the Ford camp is that this track is one that suits the Commodores.

The bait that lured James Courtney from the lucrative Japanese motor racing arena is rumoured to be a one million dollar a year contract for 3 years.
Stone Brothers will pay $200,000 of that and Ford will pick up the tab for the rest.
Ford have also taken an option on James services for a further 2 years, lest he should become unhappy with SBR. This would enable him to move to another Ford team, and keep him from the clutches of the Holden camp.
Holden were as desperate as Ford to sign James, but with the re-signing of Tod Kelly to the Holden Racing Team, the last door to a quality drive was firmly closed.

Going in to the last round Ford are in the top 3 in the championship.

After Garth Tander demolished the opposition at the last round, Ford and Holden go to Phillip Island neck and neck in the Manufacturers Championship.
Ford would be nervous, as several of the top Holden teams/drivers test at The Island, including Skaife and Steve Richards.
With Ford drivers poised to take out a 1-2 in the Drivers Championship, Holden will be particularly keen to secure the Manchamp.
GMH/Holden place a lot of importance on the Manchamp for their marketing strategies.
I am sure the Ford camp considers it to be just as important, they are just a tad quieter about it.

Ford has secured the Manufactures Trophy for 2005.
Ford Drivers Ingall, Lowndes, and Ambrose have finished as the top 3 for the year.
Ford team SBR Racing has taken out Team of the Year.