Supercars Legends / Australian
Marcos Ambrose
A Tasmanian returning from European single-seaters became the driver who broke Holden’s championship streak with Stone Brothers Racing.
By DriveAgent News · Historical profile · Records checked
The biography
Raised in Launceston, Ambrose progressed through karting and Formula Ford before racing in Europe. He returned to Australia for the Stone Brothers opportunity and won the 2003 and 2004 Supercars championships.
A different route to the front
Ambrose’s path into Supercars ran through European open-wheel racing rather than a long apprenticeship in Australian touring cars. Returning home after 2000, he joined Stone Brothers Racing and quickly made the opportunity count. Bathurst pole in his rookie season gave an early indication of his speed.
Race wins followed, and the BA Falcon became closely associated with the team’s rise. The championships of 2003 and 2004 changed the competitive picture after Holden’s sustained success. Ambrose’s achievement is inseparable from the technical and operational work of Ross and Jimmy Stone’s team.
A short, decisive championship chapter
Two titles can understate how concentrated this period was. Ambrose’s original Supercars spell produced 28 race wins between 2001 and 2005, before his move into American stock-car racing. His later return with DJR Team Penske was a separate chapter, not an extension of the Stone Brothers title run.
The championship, rather than a Bathurst victory, anchors his record: he never won the Great Race. His 2025 Hall of Fame induction recognised the significance of that peak. In a collection about the modern era, Ambrose represents the moment Ford’s challenge became a championship-winning reality again.