Stonie is capable of capturing not only a single moment but a complete story within the confides of a single, smaller than A4, captioned cartoon. It is this rare talent that stands him apart from his peers, but to judge the man simply on the standard of his work would be a travesty. The Stonie story is richer than sketches and publishing achievements.

Being without doubt the most prolific of Australia’s motoring cartoonists, it was only natural that Stonie would both come to know, and come to be known by, those that formed the grass roots of professional motor racing in this country. In fact it is with both great sincerity and more than a twinkling of passion that Stonie recalls the ‘greats’.

Names such as Harry Firth, Frank Gardiner, Peter Brock, Vern Schuppan litter our conversation, all of whom Stonie was able to form strong friendships with over the years due to his unique ability to summarise a situation with his cartoons, without as he calls it, crossing the ‘Brock line’.

Far from being a wrinkle in Peter’s furrowed brow, the Brock line (a concept still near and dear to Stonie today) was first introduced after an Auto Action sketch in the late 70’s showing a general in full uniform sneaking through the ‘back door’ into the then HDT workshop. This mere suggestion of factory help was enough to incense Brock at the time, and with some carefully thought out words he explained to Stonie that there was a very fine line between being funny and being far from it…and so the Brock line was formed.

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Stonie talks of the ensuing telephone conversation with Bev Brock…

Stonie has been very careful of the Brock line throughout his career though, not only when talking about or catooning Peter Perfect either. It’s a philosophy that infects everything that Stonie does. You see, unlike the majority of the general press, Stonie honestly believes that he is the fortunate one, lucky to have met and dealt with the greats of Australian motor sport on a regular basis. The mere thought of falling ‘outside of the loop’, as he likes to put it, is as foreign to Stonie as computer rendered art. It’s simply not on.

The Stonie story is one, he is quick to point out, of being in the right place at the right time, but speaks little of talent or achievements. It was getting into this ‘loop’ in the early 70s that lead to Stonie and a mate’s screen printing shop getting a contract to supply Marlboro with promotional clothing. Working out that this would end up being used at the fledgling Holden Dealer Team isn’t too hard, but to understand the relationship that formed between team manager Harry Firth and Stonie is.

Imagine for a moment the embroiderer of HRT shirts getting to know Jeff Grech well. It probably wouldn’t happen these days, with racing becoming far more professional and business orientated exercise than it was in the mid-70s. It wasn’t just Stonie’s charm and easygoing nature that kept him both liked and respected by Firth and his peers; it also had more to do with his ability as a graphic artist.

Terminology such as ‘Brocktober’ on the official Stonie-created MHDT Bathurst posters brought memories flocking back, with the depicted drivers still recognisable despite their wiry physiques and lack of grey hair. The sheer volume of work that Stonie undertook for Firth and the team was huge. With it being such a forgone conclusion that Brock would win on the mountain, Stonie would already have the victory podium flyers penned, and printed, before the start line balloons had even been released. On at least nine occasions that judgement was spot on the money. Sadly, not all of those works remain, with Stonie admitting that, over the years, some of the one-off style posters for the team have disappeared forever.

The motor racing identity who most influenced Stonie, however, was none other than Frank Gardiner. You get the feeling that Stonie can, and will, talk to you for hours on the subject of Gardiner, not only as a great driver, but also as a cleaver and talented team owner/manager, who won more than he lost.

Rather than being met or introduced as part of the ‘loop’ Stonie met Gardiner when he enrolled in the now defunct Gardiner driving school at Calder Park. This close personal friendship produced some of Stonie’s less known and more conventional work. There is another side to the great cartoonist, you see, and that is the great illustrator, with Stonie able to hold the pen in a serious fashion and turn out some incredible renderings. A great example is of the JPS BMW 635 that the Gardiner workshop turned out in the 70s. Stonie flew to Sydney, took photographs of the car with both the body on, and off, and then created complete, and highly detailed cutaway drawings for the teams posters.

Stonie’s friendships, however, were far from one sided in Australian motor racing circles, with his strict adherence to the ‘Brock line’ giving him access to almost every team workshop. He recalls having seen the little known BMW M3 at the Gardiner race factory while the 635’s were still doing the rounds, and meeting a pipe-smoking American at Moffat’s, working on a Falcon coupe, some time in 1976. Turns out, it was none other than American legend Carol Smith helping prepare the Falcons for their crushing one-two victory at Bathurst. Sworn to secrecy at all times, by all teams, some of what Stonie knows would make interesting reading. All we could get was a wry smile.

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Stonie’s claim to fame with Moffat is that he believes it was him who successfully taught Moffat to tell a joke. It would seem that stand-up comedy was far from ingrained in the personality of the big Canadian, but was over a period of years Stonie got him to the point where he tested his skill quite successfully, I might add, on Cromley and co, in the channel 7 commentary box. You could never underestimate Stonie’s respect for Moffat, though, as he rates sharing a hire car with Moffat on a drive from Perth to a remote country location in WA as one of his most memorable experiences. Nothing amazing, no incredible driving, just respect for being driven by one of the greats.

What with so many great personalities, and so many cherished experiences under his belt, Stonie is still remarkably upbeat about today’s V8 Supercar format replacing his beloved Group C Touring Car racing. He points out that our current had to grow and become more professional, a development he puts in the same boar as Formula One racing some 20 years ago.

Is he a big fan, though? Yeah, Stonie reckons the racing still does it for him, as do basic club and rally events, where he still competes in his immaculate Alfa 105 series GTV.

Stonie has been at it for a long time now, having spent over 20 years rendering illustrations for, and of, Australia’s best. Having come through the heady days of Australian Touring Car Racing when a whole set of heroes were born, and then having penned political cartoons during the Hawk/Keating era, it would be easy to believe that come 2002 Stonie would be an exhausted and spent man. But Stonie believes that his current work is as fresh and topical as ever…and will remain that way. "As long as Skaife has that nose, and Lowndes those eyebrows’.

There is no doubting the man’s place in the Aussie motor racing hall of fame.

This article by courtesy Graham Smith
UNIQUECARS
November 2002 Edition.
Magazine available from your local newsagent

Note: It was Stonie’s cartoon about a Brock fan watching the Great Race on television was the inspiration for the Brock05 website. As mentioned in this article, Stonie captured perfectly a typical Brocky fan and their adulation for Aussie tin top racing. Thank you Stonie, our very favourite motorsport cartoonist. Here is a small selection of cartoons on Brock.

The Team.