Morris Eighth After V8 Supercar Championship Opener
22/3/2004 6:10 (Press Release) -
Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore driver Paul Morris has finished eighth in the opening round of the 2004 V8 Supercar Championship in Adelaide.
Morris finished sixth in yesterday's first race in the Clipsal 500 over 78 laps, and was 16th in today's second and final race over the same distance in his YV Commodore, fitted with a Holden Motorsport engine.
The 36-year-old from the Gold Coast is eighth in the championship after the first of the 13 rounds with an overall tally of 132 points. He scored 81 points for his result in the first race, and a further 51 in the second event.
Marcos Ambrose, the 2003 champion, leads this year's series with the maximum 192 points after winning both races on the 3.2km circuit in a Pirtek Ford Falcon.
Morris started today's race sixth on the grid and was sixth after the opening lap. However, his chances of finishing in the top five evaporated after two separate incidents in the opening phase of the race.
Morris was penalised with a 'drive-through' penalty to the pits after contact with Greg Murphy's Kmart Commodore. Soon after Glenn Seton's Ford Performance Racing Falcon made contact with the side of Morris' car, and the Commodore was forced into the pits again for repairs to the right-rear area.
When Morris resumed racing, after being delayed by the repairs, he was 26th and three laps behind the leaders. As the race wore on Morris gradually improved his position as other competitors were forced out by mechanical problems and crashes. The second round of the championship is at Eastern Creek from April 2-4.
PAUL MORRIS QUOTES: "After everything that happened today I'm reasonably happy to come away from the weekend eighth in the championship. Being realistic it could have been worse. The second race started well and we were cruising along in fifth looking good. (Greg) Murphy held me up for three laps and then got on the brakes early at the corner coming onto Pit Straight. I was carrying more speed and got into the back of him, and they gave me a 'drive-through'. Soon after I saw (Paul) Dumbrell and Glenn (Seton) behind me. Glenn flew past Dumbrell and 'collected' me. I thought something must have gone wrong with his car because it was out of character for him. Glenn came and saw me after the race and said the throttle 'jammed' open. It was a big hit. After that I knew a top 10 finish was out of the question, so I pushed on to try and get as many points as I could. I was right behind the big accident near the end."
Release Date: 21/03/2004
Paul Morris Motorsports
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