SBR’s naming right sponsors, SP Tools and IRWIN Industrial Tools have announced they will combine their sponsorship in an attempt to win the elusive Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. The correlation between the tool companies will allow for SBR’s main series drivers, Shane van Gisbergen and Alex Davison to pair up in a dual livery FG Falcon for the 2009 enduro season events. [Read more...]
TEAM MATES PAIR UP TO TACKLE V8 SUPERCAR ENDUROS
August 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
A SHOT AT REDEMPTION – SP Tools Racing
June 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Sky City Triple Crown dished out some cruel blows today when Alex Davison lost an engine four laps onto the first part of Qualifying. His Teammate, Shane van Gisbergen didn’t fare much better starting on the grid in 23rd after failing to record a lap quick enough to make it into the next elimination leg.
The tracks temperature was at 46 degrees on the starting grid with the first seven cars fitted with ‘sprint’ tyres. The decision for SBR to use hards tyres only in today’s race was made in order to keep them in reserve for tomorrow’s double length feature.
On the first lap Shane was forced out wide after Jack Perkins made contact with him at turn 1. The early incident saw Shane drop back to last place and forced Perkins to retire from the race. Davison’s efforts moved him up five places before the first car of the field pitted on lap 5.
The IRWIN Falcon made its way down Pit Lane on Lap 18 for two new rear tyres and fuel, one lap later the SP Tools Falcon stopped for the same combination, Shane re-entered the race behind Alex in 27th.
The following laps remained free of Safety Car interruption and at the chequered flag Alex and Shane crossed the line 19th and 20th.
The 35 lap race was called short by one lap due to Channel 7 telecast scheduling.
Shane van Gisbergen – Driver, SP Tools Car #9
“We thought in qualifying we would be really strong because we were good here yesterday on fresh tyres. When we went out we picked up a whole lot of understeer, the track had changed quite a lot over night. It was the first time we didn’t make it into the top twenty with no problems which was a real shame.
“We continued to struggle in the race with understeer and couldn’t tune it out with the bars or the break bias so we just drove around the back the whole race.
“I am confident we can come back from this and make good use of the soft tyres tomorrow.”
Ross Stone – SBR Team Principal
“After having such a strong performance yesterday to qualify badly with Shane and lose an engine in Alex’s car was pretty devastating. One of the things that keeps you going in racing is there is always tomorrow, we have fresh sets of tyres for both cars in qualifying and the soft tyres that we know will give us a 1.8 to 2 second a lap advantage.”
Race Results
TODAY’S RESULTS
POS CAR # DRIVER TEAM VEHICLE
1 1 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone Ford FG
2 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford FG
3 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team Holden VE
4 2 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team Holden VE
5 7 Todd Kelly Jack Daniel’s Racing Holden VE
6 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone Ford FG
7 8 Jason Richards Team BOC Holden VE
8 18 James Courtney Jim Beam Racing Ford FG
19 4 Alex Davison IRWIN Racing Ford FG
20 9 Shane van Gisbergen SP Tools Racing Ford FG
VAN GISBERGEN ‘HOT’ IN DARWIN – SP Tools V8 Racing
June 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment
SBR’s strong track record at the Hidden Valley circuit was alive again today when both SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison finished in the top ten for Practice.
The Darwin heat proved to be no issue for New Zealand born van Gisbergen as he remained at the top of the times, when with less than two minutes to go Will Davison set the fastest lap of the day pushing Shane back to second.
Alex Davison struggled for balance in his IRWIN Ford but recovered well when the team changed to a better set of tyres. Finishing the session 10th overall was a rewarding result after having problems with grip and understeer earlier in the day.
Shane van Gisbergen – Driver, SP Tools Racing Car #9
“We struggled for balance for a while there, the first half of practice was a long fifty minutes. We made quite a few changes during the break and as soon as we moved to better tyres it was bang and we were up there.
“It’s great to be here, in the top three. After we set our quickset time we still had some really strong laps that followed which proved we have things right with the car. It’s always good for the team to have both drivers up there, Alex finishing in the ten is a great result for SBR.”
TODAY’S RESULTS
POS CAR # DRIVER TEAM TIME
1 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team 1:09.7269
2 9 Shane van Gisbergen SP Tools Racing 1:09.8329
3 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone 1:09.8864
4 1 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone 1:09.8899
5 15 Rick Kelly Jack Daniel’s Racing 1:09.8953
6 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 1:09.9851
7 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 1:09.9887
8 7 Todd Kelly Jack Daniel’s Racing 1:10.0733
9 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:10.1419
10 4 Alex Davison IRWIN Racing 1:10.2270
OPPORTUNITY GOES BEGGING – Falken Tasmainia Challenge
May 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment
It was another missed opportunity today for SBR when a problem during a scheduled pit stop cost van Gisbergen time dropping him from a competitive top ten position to one lap down. After this morning’s 20 minute qualifying session the SP Tools Racing Falcon and IRWIN Racing Falcon lined up on the grid in 11th and 19th respectively. Unhappy with their starting positions SBR’s drivers, van Gisbergen and Davison had some work to do, and with half the field still having their soft tyres on reserve it looked to be a long hard race ahead.
At the green light all 30 cars got off the line and made it cleanly through the tight hairpin without incident. The first of the pit stops took place on Lap 1 before the SP Tools Falcon entered Pit Lane on Lap 4 for a new set of rear tyres and fuel. Van Gisbergen re-entered and spent the next few laps dicing with Lowndes before settling into a race rhythm.
IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison was to stay out for much longer before his first stop as part of the team’s strategy. Davison remained the highest placed driver on hard tyres before pitting on Lap 36 for rear tyres and fuel.
The race continued without incident when on Lap 53 van Gisbergen was called in to pit again after Murphy spun at the hairpin. The team were hoping for a Safety Car but that was not to be as Murphy eventually rejoined the race without assistance.
Car #9 came in for another top up of fuel and four tyres but when the engine stalled on exit the SP Tools Falcon remained stationary as Shane battled to restart the car. The SBR crew looked on powerless to help as the 30 second struggle cost him dearly, dropping him from 10th to a lap down.
Just seven laps later the IRWIN FG Falcon was in for fuel and four new tyres, the following lap would throw the field wide open when Courtney crashed and failed trying to limp his wrecked car back to Pit Lane.
The beginning of a Safety Car streak began on Lap 60, this was to be the first Yellow of three over 15 minutes. One lap after the restart the Safety Car was again deployed to retrieve Jason Richards’s car stranded at the hairpin.
After the 2nd restart the field had reshuffled into race position with Davison sitting in 9th. With 7 laps to go Fiore was buried at the hairpin forcing the Safety Car to re-enter the track for the third time.
Davison struggled with rear grip for the remaining laps unable to hold onto position and keep out those behind him on soft tyres. At the end of 84 laps Alex had dropped back three positions to finish in 12th, van Gisbergen crossing the line 20th.
Paul Forgie – Car #9 Engineer
“It was a potential top 5 result today lost. It’s cost us two Championship positions which is frustrating when we had a car worthy of a solid result.
“Shane did a great job in the middle stint and the boys did a good job of the pit stops.
“We are getting closer and closer to a podium it just hasn’t fallen into place for us yet. All the ingredients are there ………….we’re looking to Darwin now.”
Race 2 – Falken Tasmainia Challenge
|
Pos |
Car# |
Driver |
Team |
Vehicle |
|
1 |
1 |
Jamie Whincup |
Team Vodafone |
Ford |
|
2 |
22 |
Holden Racing Team |
Wil Davison |
Holden |
|
3 |
111 |
Wilson Security Racing |
Fabian Coultard |
Ford |
|
4 |
5 |
Ford Performance Racing |
Mark Winterbottom |
Ford |
|
5 |
33 |
Garry Rogers Motorsport |
Lee Holdsworth |
Holden |
|
6 |
39 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Russell Ingall |
Holden |
|
7 |
25 |
Fujitsui Racing |
Jason Bright |
Ford |
|
8 |
3 |
Sprint Gas Racing |
Jason Bargwanna |
Holden |
|
9 |
67 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Tim Slade |
Holden |
|
10 |
333 |
Wilson Security Racing |
Micheal Patrizi |
Ford |
|
12 |
4 |
IRWIN Racing |
Alex Davison |
Ford |
|
20 |
9 |
SP Tools Racing |
Shane van Gisbergen |
Ford |
SHANE SIXTH AT SYMMONS – Falken Tasmania Challenge Race 1
May 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen took part in his second ever Shootout after finishing 4th quickest in the second leg of Qualifying earlier today. The SP Tools FG Falcon started from 7th position on the grid for the 42 lap race at the Symmons Plains International Circuit.
The SBR team were happy with Alex Davison’s efforts qualifying the IRWIN Tools Falcon in 17th. [Read more...]
Round 1 – Clipsal 500 Adelaide Street Circuit
March 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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- SP Tools Grid Girls
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- SP Tools Grid Girls
What Good Is A V8 Supercar Without Some Beauty….
March 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
V8 Supercars are fun no questions asked but racing just wouldn’t be the same without beautiful women…
We take great pleasure and pride in introducing you to the SP Tools Racing Grid Girls.
From Left to Right:
Jenny Kellett, Elise Griffiths, Jess Plush, Kristen McKenzie.
Thankyou – Sensational Job.
TOUGH DAY FOR SBR ON THE STREETS OF ADELAIDE
March 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
TOUGH DAY FOR SBR ON THE STREETS OF ADELAIDE
22/03/2009
It was a frustrating day for the SBR team, after finishing with strong positional gains on track in yesterday’s race, the SP Tools Racing #9 car started 12th and the IRWIN Racing #4 car lined up 26th, due to the new qualifying start rule introduced by V8 Supercars for this years championship series.
In front of a huge crowd, in excess of 270,000 over the four day race weekend, the SBR Ford FG Falcons battled it out for valuable championship points in tough conditions. A slow start from van Gisbergen in Race 2 lost him a few positions in the first lap putting him back into 15th before an early safety car period interrupted the race to remove Jack Perkin’s car after an incident at turn 8.
In the following laps Shane managed to fight his way through to be inside the top ten with lap times matching the speed of the leading drivers. Encouragement from his engineer, Paul Forgie, helped to keep Shane alert and focused for the chase into his second stint.
Paul Forgie – Race Engineer Car #9 (In Car Radio – Lap 30)
“Good work, get back into your rhythm and make every corner count.”
After two more restarts Shane communicated to the SBR crew complications with the throttle reporting it was sticking.
Shane van Gisbergen – Driver SP Tools Racing Car #9
“The race was okay today, I stuffed up the start and let a few guys through but we went on a bit of a charge, the car was awesome and the guys did a great job preparing it. We were on the case and passed a lot of cars and at the end of our first stint we were looking good. We managed to keep the pace then later in the second stint the butterfly had bent so it was carrying throttle into the corners so I couldn’t pull it up and it wouldn’t turn, I had to clutch it every corner which cost us a lot of time.”
IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison experienced another drama filled day in the #4 FG Falcon struggling with the car as well as a foot injury sustained during Saturday’s race. On lap 44 after a perfect pit-stop Alex clipped the tyre wall at turn one causing the centre of his front left tyre to shred forcing him to return to the pits the following lap.
Once Alex returned to the track he managed to post his fastest time of 1:23.7722 on lap 55. The IRWIN Racing car went a lap down after the race leader, Jamie Whincup, passed the #4 car on the main straight. In the later stages of the race Alex reported he was struggling with severe foot pain and the overall handling of the car. The race telemetry alerted the team to an engine problem with SBR’s engineers diagnosing there was an issue with the alternator. As Alex lost track position throughout the following laps it was decided to bring the car into the pits for the remainder of the race before re-entering to complete the last lap for championship points.
Alex Davison – Driver IRWIN Racing Car #4
“I made a mistake and clipped the tire bundle at turn one, I was behind another car and sort of blinded a bit by it and clipped it and cut the tire and we had to come in a change it. Then not long after the alternator had a problem and the battery started going flat so we had to stop, we charged it up enough at the end so I could do the last lap.
“My foot is not so good at the moment, apart from that I feel brand new, there wasn’t an issue at all as far as comfort levels go. I felt more acclimatised today; my cool suit worked the whole race so there were no dramas fitness wise.”
Davison’s debut for SBR wasn’t what the team or Alex himself had hoped for.
David Stuart – Team Manager
“These cars are unique compared to anything else anybodies ever driven, anybody that comes into the category from open wheelers to Porches will have a small period of adjustment. Alex has the determination and the ability and he will be harder on himself than we could ever be, he’s determined to make it work here at SBR. I was with his brother Will in his first race in ’06 here at Clipsal and he had the same sort of results but look at him today he’s standing on the podium so I believe Alex has every bit the potential that Will has as long as he doesn’t beat himself up too much we can enjoy celebrating a podium with him in a few more years.”
A tough race weekend for the team ended with SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen finishing equal 6th on 168 points while IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison finished equal 17th with 90 points overall.
Ross Stone – Team Principal
“It was a tough race and a tough place today. To have two 250km races to start off the season is always hard but I think we can take some positives out of it being that we have really good car speed and great chemistry within the team. We will move forward from here.”
The SBR crew will stay in Adelaide to work on the #4 and #9 cars on Monday in the lead up to the ‘Non-Championship’ Race 2.
SP Tools Racing – Stone Brothers Racing – Shane van Gisbergen New Look No. 9 For 2009……
February 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
SP Tools Racing 2009 Livery