The latest milestone in the alliance between Stone Brothers Racing and Erebus Motorsport has been reached with Erebus CEO Ryan Maddison beginning work at SBR’s headquarters on the Gold Coast in Queensland today.

SBR and Erebus announced in September they were forming an alliance and through the AMG Customer Sports Program would field three AMG E-Class V8 Supercars in the 2013 championship under the new ‘Car of the Future’ rules.

SBR Team Principal Ross Stone, who didn’t attend last weekend’s event in Abu Dhabi – thus missing his first-ever V8 Supercar event since the formation of SBR – said Maddison’s presence at the team’s headquarters meant it can now push forward with its plans for next year.

“This year’s championship has not yet concluded, so we continue to concentrate on getting the best possible results at the last two events,” says Stone.

“Having said that, the start of the 2013 season is just over 15 weeks away and with Ryan and I working full time together, it will mean we can focus on implementing our strategies for 2013.

“There is an enormous amount of work to be done before the opening event in February, but we are on track to meet the deadlines and it will be an exciting few months ahead.

“SBR/Erebus will begin the 2013 Championship in a very strong position with three brand new COTF Supercars and three high profile drivers in Shane (van Gisbergen), Lee (Holdsworth) and Tim (Slade) lining up on the grid.”

Erebus CEO Maddison said he’s looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.

“We have a huge job ahead of us and our journey won’t be without obstacles, however, to be moving back to the Gold Coast to undertake this significant project is really exciting,” he says.

“My expectations for next year are very high and I will be working to not only meet these but to exceed all of the targets we set.

“For the last few months I have travelling from Melbourne to the Gold Coast when necessary to work with Ross, but actually moving into SBR headquarters and working closely with the team will mean we can really concentrate on the task we have set ourselves.

“Today is a significant step in the SBR/Erebus journey and one that I know I will enjoy very much.”

Erebus will also have a presence at today’s launch of the 2013 Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

The event will be the first opportunity that V8 Supercar fans have had to publicly see the engine that will power the Erebus Motorsport/SBR AMG Customer Sports E-Class next year.