Netspace V8 Supercar Challenge Preview
4/3/2004 19:07 (Press Release) -
The Netspace V8 Supercar event will be held at Albert Park in Melbourne as part of the Foster's Australian Formula One Grand Prix. V8 Supercar drivers practice and qualify on Thursday and race on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. These races are not part of the V8 Supercar Championship.
The championship starts with the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide from March 18-21.
Gold Coast driver Paul Morris will begin his third successive V8 Supercar season with Sirromet Wines as his team's principal sponsor. The 36-year-old will drive at Albert Park in a VY Holden Commodore, fitted with a Holden Motorsport engine. It is the same car he drove during the second half of the 2003 season. A feature of Morris' car at Albert Park will be the debut of an air conditioning unit, designed and bult by his team at the Holden Performance Driving Centre.
PAUL MORRIS - 2003 ALBERT PARK FLASHBACK
Paul Morris made his debut in a VY model Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore in the V8 Supercar races at Albert Park. The car was originally built as a VX Commodore and raced by Morris in 2002, but was changed to VY-specification for 2003. The changes included a double wishbone front suspension, replacing the McPherson strut, and a new aerodynamic package.
Morris qualified 23rd with a best lap time of 2-mins 1.176-secs. In the opening race over 10 laps he finished 16th, and in race two over 12 laps he was 15th. The third and final race in wet conditions was stopped when the front of Morris car was seriously damaged after contact with the Castrol Holden Commodore of Paul Dumbrell. Morris' Commodore slammed into a concrete wall. The left-front wheel was ripped off and many panels and other components were damaged. No results were posted because insufficient laps were completed to declare a race.
PAUL MORRIS - 2004 ALBERT PARK PRE-RACE COMMENTS
"Last year we had a big shunt at the grand prix and it was a weekend to forget. It was a big mess with wheels flying everywhere and they had to stop the race. This is a new year, and a fresh start, and we're keen to get on with things."
"We're running the same VY Commodore we finished last season with. The car has good speed and I'm hopeful of being competitive straight off.
"The big change to the car this year is we're going to run with air conditioning. We've tested it at Queensland Raceway, and we're going to try it in a race for the first time at Albert Park. It could help this week if it's hot, although it will probably be more valuable in longer races later in the year."
"Albert Park has a lot of concrete walls so you've got to drive accurately, and you need plenty of 'grunt' down the long straight. It's the first race of the season and everyone will be 'fired up' to do well.
"I'd like to qualify up the front to keep away from all the mid-field drama we got caught up in last year at this place."
V8 SUPERCARS - ALBERT PARK FAST FACTS
Circuit length: 5.3km
Race lap record: 1-min 58.721-secs, Russell Ingall (Holden)
2003 pole position: 1-min 59.082-secs, Mark Skaife (Holden)
2003 race winners: Jason Bright (race 1); Russell Ingall (race 2)
V8 SUPERCARS - ALBERT PARK SCHEDULE
Thursday (Mar 4): Practice: 10.55am-11.25am; Qualifying: 2pm-2.30pm; Top 10 Shootout: 4.05pm-4.45pm Friday (Mar 5): Race 1 (10 laps): 3.25pm-3.34pm Saturday (Mar 6): Race 2 (19 laps): 4pm-4.40pm Sunday (Mar 7): Race 3 (10 laps) 10.37am-10.57am
Release Date: 2/03/2004
Sirromet/Paul Morris Motorsports
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