Stone Brothers Racing achieved its third Bathurst 1000 podium in three
years at today's Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, the JELD-WEN Motorsport
duo of James Courtney and David Besnard fighting back to claim third
place in an amazing race.

The JELD-WEN Motorsport team's race looked all but over in the middle
stages when the SBR crew suspected a broken rear roll bar in the BF
Falcon but their never-say-die attitude kept the number-four car in the
race to grab a fantastic result.

Starting from third, Courtney avoided a stationary Garth Tander on the
front row of the grid and moved quickly through the front runners to
lead the race by lap four.

The JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon showed great turn of speed and pulled
away from the field giving Besnard a handy lead when Courtney pitted on
lap 28.

Only a couple of laps into Bernard's stint, the JELD-WEN Motorsport
Falcon turned into a handful, sending the JELD-WEN co-driver quickly
down the order to be in 16th place as the race reached 50 laps.

Besnard bought the JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon into the pits on lap 55
with a shredded left front tyre and a suspected broken rear roll bar. A
quick check of the rear revealed nothing and after a full stop and some
adjustments to assist with balance, Courtney rejoined the race.

An inspection of the offending tyre revealed a slow leak as the cause of
the handling problems in the JELD-WEN Falcon and while the number four
car was still a handful, Courtney was able to continue on.

The race improved from there for Courtney and Besnard, with another two
regular stops on laps 76 and 106 and the JELD-WEN Falcon reclaimed the
lead on lap 129.

However, there was still another challenge to overcome, with the
JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon out of sync with the rest of the field and
still to make its final fuel stop.

Courtney stopped on lap 137 and remained in the car but relinquished the
lead dropping to 13th position.

The JELD-WEN Motorsport driver turned it on in the final 25 laps of the
race, producing a gritty charge through the field to pass Steven
Richards on lap 160 to claim third place.

On the other side of the garage, the SP Tools Racing Falcon were looking
strong early in today's 1000km race, Shane van Gisbergen working his way
up to the top ten before his pit stop on lap 20.

Co-driver Jonathon Webb continued with good pace and was in sixth
position when he made a good call on a delaminating front tyre, bringing
the SP Tools Racing Falcon in just in time on lap 46 for the second
stop.

A driver change put van Gisbergen back in the car, the 19-year-old
completing only 22 laps before suffering the same fate as his team-mate,
a delaminating front tyre. It forced another driver change with Webb
continuing in the SP Tools Racing Falcon.

Webb worked his way into 11th position and when the safety car was
deployed on lap 90 and the SBR crew took the opportunity to stop for
fuel, tyres and pads.

The SP Tools Racing Falcon exited after the restart on lap 92, rejoining
the race for only half a lap when cold tyres and full tanks caught Webb
out, the SP Tools Racing driver hitting the wall at turn nine.

The number-nine car suffered broken steering and despite his best
efforts to get the car back to the pits, Webb was forced to park at the
top of the mountain.

Courtney's result at today's Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 puts him in
seventh place in the V8 Supercar Championship Series standings with van
Gisbergen in 15th place.

The JELD-WEN Motorsport and SP Tools Racing teams will now focus their
attention on round 11 of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, the
Lexmark Indy 300 at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit from 23-26
October 2008.

James Courtney, #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
"I would have to say that I am a little surprised to be on the podium. I
thought the day was done when we thought we had broken the rear roll
bar.

"But we were able to come back and it's a credit to the team and to
David that they never gave up.

"I was pretty determined in that last stint; I double stinted and I was
taking no prisoners.

"I pushed like crazy to get up there and used up a lot of the brakes and
tyres coming through. When I saw that Richo (Steven Richards) was having
problems I jumped at the opportunity to pass.

"It's a great achievement for SBR and myself to be on the podium three
years in a row and David two in a row. I can't thank David and the boys
on the team enough."

David Besnard, #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
"I'm really satisfied to be on the podium but I guess in some ways James
and I are also a little disappointed.

"This was probably our biggest chance for a win, the JELD-WEN Falcon was
great but by the same hand, with the dramas we had early in the race, a
podium result is fantastic.

"This would have to be the hardest Bathurst I've done and the bloke
beside me (James) drove amazingly.

"And for SBR to have the faith in both of us and for them to stick with
me this year, its great to bring home another podium."

Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing
"We were running pretty strongly today so it was a real shame not to
finish the race.

"We struggled a little in my first stint but the SP Tools Racing Falcon
was coming good in the second stint and Jonathon (Webb) was going a
really good job.

"The SP Tools Racing team was looking good on strategy so Jonathon and I
are pretty gutted with the result."

Jonathon Webb, #9, SP Tools Racing
"The SP Tools Racing Falcon was running very well today.

"In the first stint Shane was showing good speed and we were both
comfortable with the pace of the race, just keeping an eye on tyres and
keeping it straight.

"Turning into the grate at turn nine the car seemed to understeer and I
missed the apex and ran out of road on the exit.

"We broke the steering and I tried to get it back to the pits but it had
done just enough damage to put an end to our race."

V8 Supercars - Race
1. C.Lowndes/J.Whincup
2. G.Murphy/J.Richards
3. D.Besnard/J.Courtney
4. S.Richards/M.Winterbottom
5. B.Jones/M.Wilson
6. W.Davison/S.Johnson
7. D.Canto/L.Youlden
8. J.Perkins/N.Pretty
9. J.Bright/A.Macrow
10. F.Coulthard/A.Davison
DNF S. van Gisbergen/J.Webb

V8 Supercars Meeting Points
1. C.Lowndes/J.Whincup 300 pts
2. G.Murphy/J.Richards 276 pts
3. D.Besnard/J.Courtney 258 pts
4. S.Richards/M.Winterbottom 240 pts
5  B.Jones/M.Wilson 222 pts
6. W.Davison/S.Johnson 204
7. D.Canto/L.Youlden 192 pts
8. J.Perkins/N.Pretty 180 pts
9. J.Bright/A.Macrow 168 pts
10. F.Coulthard/A.Davison 156 pts

V8 Supercars Championship Points
1. Jamie Whincup 2316 pts
2. Mark Winterbottom 2283 pts
3. Garth Tander 2234 pts
4. Craig Lowndes 1923 pts
5. Will Davison 1865 pts
6. Steven Richards 1834 pts
7. James Courtney 1802 pts
8. Rick Kelly 1792 pts
9. Steven Johnson 1471 pts
10. Russell Ingall 1464 pts
15. Shane Van Gisbergen 1208 pts