Sirromet Wines V8 supercar Team Works Long Hours To Build Car For Darwin
20/5/2004 21:01 (Press Release) -
A marathon car building program on the Gold Coast after a high-speed crash will have Paul Morris driving with a much-revised Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore in round four of the V8 Supercar Championship in the Northern Territory from May 21-23.
Morris and his team have worked 12-hour days over the past week fitting out a new VY Commodore body shell with a mix of new and old components in preparation for the round at the Hidden Valley circuit near Darwin.
"Our team has been working incredibly hard putting the car together and at this stage it appears the transporter will be heading to Darwin this Sunday (May 16) as planned," he said. "Fortunately we had enough 'spares' and equipment to deal with this type of situation without any extra load on our machining or fabricating departments."
The 36-year-old dropped from seventh to 11th in the championship when he hit a wall at 200-km/h in the previous round at Pukekohe in New Zealand on May 2, and his VY Commodore was badly damaged.
The car Morris crashed on the final lap of the third race of the New Zealand round is scheduled to arrive back in Australia by ship later this week, which would not have allowed the team enough time to repair the damage before Hidden Valley.
In the circumstances the team removed as many components as possible from the damaged car in New Zealand, then transported them across the Tasman Sea last week by air, and fitted out a recently-completed body-shell at their workshop at the Holden Performance Driving Centre.
"The new body shell was going to be a 'spare' and we were lucky it was finished just in time," said Morris. "We had enough bits, either in the workshop, or from the car in New Zealand, to build up a complete car for Darwin."
Parts removed from the Commodore Morris raced in New Zealand which will be used on his car at Hidden Valley include the fuel and oil systems, wiring loom, dashboard instruments and electrics, and the air-conditioner.
Team Technical Manager Paul Ceprnich said the gearbox, differential, and engine had been damaged on the car raced in New Zealand, and replacement units would be used in Darwin. He said the new body shell was essentially unchanged from his previous design.
Morris, who received minor neck and leg injuries from the crash in New Zealand, said he aimed to regain a championship top 10 position in the Hidden Valley round, which comprises a 20-minute race on May 22, and two 100km races the following day.
"The crash in New Zealand dropped us out of the top 10, so we are keen to get things back on track," said Morris. "Heat is always a factor in Darwin, and I think the air-conditioner we're using could be a big bonus."
"Hidden Valley has a slow corner coming onto the long front straight so you need plenty of horsepower. Around the back section there's some tight corners where you change direction quickly so you've got to get the balance of the car right."
Morris qualified 12th in the championship round at Hidden Valley in 2003. However, he was forced out of the first race by broken steering after contact with another car. In race two he finished 23rd after being slowed by an overheating engine, and in race three he was 30th after struggling with clutch and power steering problems.
"In terms of car speed we've made some gains since last year, and I think we can be very competitive this time," said Morris.
This year's championship leader is Pirtek Ford Falcon driver Marcos Ambrose with 532 points. Morris has 324 points, two behind 10th placed John Bowe in an OzEmail Falcon.
HIDDEN VALLEY – FAST FACTS
CIRCUIT LENGTH: 2.9km
RACE FORMAT: 1 x 20-min race (Saturday); 2 x 100km races (Sunday)
RACE LAP RECORD: Jason Bright (Holden) 1-min 9.041-secs (1999)
2003 WINNER: Marcos Ambrose (Ford)
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after round 3): Ambrose 532, S. Richards 528, Murphy 509, R. Kelly 502, Bright 457, Baird 364, Ingall 350, Weel 347, Johnson 341, Bowe 326, Morris 324, Tander 322
Release Date: 12/05/2004
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