Stone Brothers Racing is looking to complete a hat-trick of podiums in next weekend's Desert 400, following successful outings at both the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and Lexmark Indy 300.
With the two recent rostrums having been shared between JELD-WEN Motorsport's James Courtney and Caltex Racing's Russell Ingall, both SBR Falcons are in a strong position heading to the second overseas outing of the campaign.
Ingall and the Caltex Racing team are still on a high since claiming second place at the Lexmark Indy 300 a week ago. The 2005 V8 Supercar Champion is looking forward to the challenge of the Bahrain International Circuit, and is positive his Caltex Racing Falcon has the speed to bid for victory around the fast and flowing track.
“We've been building some momentum in recent rounds,” the British-born ace asserted, “and our second at Indy proves the Caltex Racing Falcon has the pace to be up there at the front.
“Bahrain is a big, open circuit; it's very flat and smooth. It has some challenging corners and there are good opportunities to pass if your car is set-up right. The surface is very high on grip, but it's also incredibly hard on tyres which can cause issues as the weekend goes on.
“The Caltex boys are on a high after Indy though, and we're confident we can keep it at the pointy end for another good result.”
Courtney, who tasted success with runner-up spot in the Bathurst 1000, is heading into the meeting in similarly optimistic mood and lying one place behind Ingall in the drivers' standings, the pairing sitting ninth and tenth. The 27-year-old believes tyre-management will be key to securing a good result in the Middle East.
“We had a good run at Bahrain last year,” the former British Formula Ford Champion said, “and the JELD-WEN Falcon was quite speedy. Unfortunately we got caught up in an incident with Rick Kelly in race two which cost us a good weekend, but SBR has shown some really good form at Bathurst and Indy so we are in with a good shot.
![Russell Ingall - Caltex Racing SBR Ford Falcon [pic credit: Caltex/BAM media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/294210.jpg)
