Weel deal for Ambrose's endurance assault
20/6/2002 17:11 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Two prized V8 Supercar rookies, Marcos Ambrose and Paul Weel, will formidably unite for an assault on this year’s endurance races.
Paul Weel and Marcos Ambrose hope to steer the Pirtek Falcon to victory at the Queensland 500 and Bathurst 1000
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Stone Brothers Racing confirmed the deal earlier this week, which will see 22-year-old Weel race for the team at the Queensland 500 and Bathurst 1000.
Weel, a regular on the V8 Supercar circuit since winning the 1998 Rookie of the Year title as a wide-eyed teenager, described the opportunity as his biggest career break.
And partnering last year’s record-breaking rookie, Ambrose, aboard the leading Ford mount, forms a potent endurance force.
“This is certainly the best opportunity I have had since I started in the V8 Supercar category,” Weel said.
“SBR is the front-running Ford team in this year’s series and Marcos is the leading Ford driver. I think together we will form a very good combination and have a great opportunity to win both the 500 and at Bathurst.”
Team principal Ross Stone described Weel as an underrated talent. After last year’s driver debacle, which saw part-timer Greg Crick dropped as Ambrose’s co-driver before Bathurst, Stone said it was important to find a regular V8 Supercar racer.
“Paul has done the hard yards in the V8 ranks with his own team in the last couple of seasons and has really developed into a competitive and confident competitor,” Stone said.
“We had a few options for the co-driver seat, but at the end of the day it was hard to go past a quick young driver who is living and breathing these cars every day.
”I think the days of hiring big-name European drivers for the endurance races are gone. I think it makes sense to employ drivers who know their way around these cars.”
Ambrose agreed: “Paul has been quick this season and will continue to have his backside is a V8 Supercar week in and week out before we get to the endurance events and that can only be an advantage.”
The Stone brothers’ Caltex-liveried sister Falcon will feature David Besnard and 500cc motorcycle champion, Wayne Gardner.
Weel’s Gold Coast-based race team will continue with its endurance plans, with Tim Leahey to partner a yet-to-be-announced driver, possibly Kiwi Konica rookie Mark Porter, in the K & J Thermal Products Falcon.
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