Morris jumps eight championship positions at Winton
14/8/2004 15:08 (Press Release) -
Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore driver Paul Morris improved eight positions in this year's V8 Supercar Championship points standings when he finished eighth in today's seventh round of the series at Winton Raceway in Victoria.
Morris went into the round holding 23rd position in the championship. He scored 150 points for his result at Winton in his VY Commodore and improved to 15th place in the series with an overall tally of 604 points.
The result by the 36-year-old Gold Coast driver at Winton was his second best of the 2004 championship. His best performance to date this year was finishing sixth in race one of the championship opener in Adelaide in March.
The 100-lap race at Winton was held in cool conditions and featured seven Safety Car periods. Morris began from 17th position on the grid, then improved to eighth by lap 20. He was in sixth place when he made his first compulsory pit-stop for tyres after 34 laps under Safety Car conditions.
Morris made his second pit-stop after 41 laps, again under Safety Car conditions, for fuel and resumed driving in 20th position. By lap 54 he had reclaimed a top 10 position and remained there for the rest of the race. He completed the event in 2-hours 34-minutes 29.986-secs, finishing 10.563-seconds behind the race-winning Repco Valvoline Commodore of Cameron McConville.
The eighth round of the championship will be held at Oran Park in Sydney from August 13-15.
PAUL MORRIS QUOTES: "The car felt good from start to finish. It was one of those days when a lot of cars were spearing off and having all kinds of dramas, but we managed to stay out of trouble and get a result. Our pit-stops were among the best we've done all year. The team also made the right calls with the pit stops – they got me in and out of pit lane both times when the Safety Car was circulating. I just wish I'd been able to start closer to the front, but getting put back to 17th in qualifying hurt us. My only problem today was the windscreen getting splattered with mud when I was following (Paul) Radisich and he had a deflating tyre. It made things difficult to see in the second half of the race and cost me a place."
RESULTS – RACE (100 laps):
POS DRIVERS CAR TIME
1. Cameron McConville Repco Valvoline Holden Commodore 2:34:18.523
2. Rick Kelly Kmart Holden Commodore 2:34:18.743
3. Jason Bright PWR Holden Commodore 2:34:18.993
4. Russell Ingall Caltex Havoline Ford Falcon 2:34:20.551
5. Greg Murphy Kmart Holden Commodore 2:34:24.630
6. Steve Ellery Super Cheap Auto Ford Falcon 2:34:25.060
7. Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore 2:34:25.246
8. Paul Morris Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore 2:34:29.086
9. Garth Tander Repco Valvoline Holden Commodore 2:34:30.822
10. Glenn Seton Ford Performance Racing Falcon 2:34:31.318
FASTEST LAP: Skaife 1-min 24.791-secs
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after round 7): Bright 1,131, S. Richards 1,126, R. Kelly 1,116, Ambrose 1,106, Ingall 982, Murphy 979, Tander 924, T. Kelly 897, Bowe 728, Bargwanna 652. Other: Morris 604
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