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Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt says he’ll look to make the most of his time at Ross Stone’s workshop to channel some Supercars success.
Formerly of Stone Brothers Racing, Stone won two Teams’ Championships in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship (then V8 Supercars) in the mid-2000s.
Marcos Ambrose brought the team its greatest success with two Drivers’ Championships in 2003 and ‘04 while Russell Ingall went on to win in ‘05.
Stone Brothers Racing continued through to the early 2010s before being sold to Betty Klimenko to set up Erebus Motorsport.
Inspired by the success of Stone in the mid-2000s, Schwerkolt said he hoped some that success might be forthcoming for the team.
“Ross Stone has a lot of history in the sport, he’s won championships and Bathurst, and he’s just an incredible guy,” said Schwerkolt.
“Maybe there’s some good luck that can come our way from Ross’ experience and flow straight down to our team.”
In the midst of the chaos to relocate Victorian- and Sydney-based teams, it was thought Schwerkolt would relocate his operations to his Waverley Forklifts base in Yatala.
However, an offer from Stone to house the team at his facility just a few doors down was quickly taken up.
The workshop is currently home to four Supercars, classic and contemporary.
Stone has recently rebuilt the Ford BA Falcon as raced by Ambrose, which is dressed in its 2004 guise. The Falcon formerly driven by Ingall is also being restored.
“A massive thanks to Ross Stone for allowing Team 18 to stay at his premises in Yatala for the next two weeks as the base for the race team,” said Schwerkolt.
“It’s been a massive journey and logistical challenge for the crew to move up from Melbourne, stay in Sydney for two weeks and then race there, pack up again and come straight up to the Gold Coast to prepare the cars and isolate ahead of the next round in Darwin.
“It’s hard for the crew who are still away from their families, their friends and life as they know it from where the team is based in Melbourne, but I think we’ve got a really good setup for them here at Ross Stone’s base in Yatala, he’s opened the doors and laid out the red carpet for us.
“I live on the Gold Coast so to have my team based here for this time is fantastic, It’s great for Queensland and the Gold Coast to come to the rescue for the Supercars Championship in what has been a very tough time negotiating the challenges brought up by COVID-19.”
Team 18 will spend at least 14 days in Queensland before heading to the Northern Territory for the Darwin double-header at Hidden Valley Raceway on August 8-9 and 15-16.
