TODAY’S announcement that Stone Brothers Racing will not race Ford Falcons in 2013 brings the curtain down on 14 years of SBR using the ‘blue oval’ product.

After three consecutive V8 Supercar Championships with Marcos Ambrose (pictured) and Russell Ingall between 2003 and 2005 – as well as a Bathurst win in 1998 with Jason Bright and Steve Richards – Ross and Jim Stone’s team will use something other than a Ford product for the first time in its history.

“Leaving Ford was not an easy thing to do, but as car markets change here in Australia I felt the time was right for a new challenge and with Ford’s mutual agreement we have decided to part ways,” said Team Principal Ross Stone.

“We will be racing a Ford Falcon for the last time at Olympic Park in December and will see out our contract which ends this year.

“I’d like to thank Ford and all our supporters for their backing and we now look forward to entering a new era of racing with Erebus Motorsport.”

Initially set up in 1996 as Alan Jones Racing, the team became Stone Brothers Racing in 1998 when the two expat Kiwis bought out the former Formula 1 World Champion.

From that point onwards, they’ve racked up 41 V8 Supercar Championship race wins, 23 round/event wins and 27 pole positions all in Falcons – the most recent pole coming last weekend at Sandown with Shane van Gisbergen and Luke Youlden.

Come the season-ending Sydney Telstra 500 they will rack up their 199th V8 Supercars Championship event campaigning Falcons – one short of the magic 200.

The team will test its new 2013 Car of the Future chassis as a Ford in coming weeks and will continue its testing program with Ford until the completion of their contract at the end of the year.