Morris 7th fastest and 2nd Holden at Sandown
10/9/2004 23:19 (Press Release) -
Sirromet Wines-sponsored Paul Morris emerged seventh fastest overall and second quickest among Holden Commodore drivers in today's opening two practice sessions ahead of Sunday's Betta Electrical Sandown 500 V8 Supercar Championship race in Melbourne.
Morris, who is contesting the ninth championship round with Alan Gurr, clocked a best lap time of 1-min 11.435-secs around the 3.1km circuit in the Sirromet Wines VY Commodore. He set the time on his 29th and final lap of the opening practice session.
The time recorded by the 36-year-old Gold Coast driver was 0.218-secs inside the race lap record of 1-min 11.653-secs held by Craig Lowndes. Holden Racing Team driver Mark Skaife was the only Commodore competitor to head Morris in practice, finishing sixth with 1-min 11.312-secs.
Gurr drove 19 laps in the second session, which began with a wet track before drying. The 22-year-old, who is on staff at Paul Morris Motorsports, emerged 15th in the second session with a time of 1-min 13.001-secs.
Gurr is making his first appearance in this year's championship in the 500km Sandown race. He has been racing in the Konica-Minolta Series in 2004, and won the opening round at Wakefield Park near Goulburn in March in a VX Commodore.
Marcos Ambrose was fastest in the two practice sessions at Sandown today with a best lap of 1-min 10.600-secs in the Pirtek Ford Falcon he is driving with Greg Ritter.
PAUL MORRIS QUOTES: "So far so good. I was in and out of the pits a few times because we were making changes to the shock-absorbers and springs, and there were some 'Red Flags' with guys spearing off the track.
"This is an updated car compared to what we ran here last year and that's showing with the lap times. The new car has a stronger engine, and the front-end is working better because of improvements we've made with the geometry. Alan (Gurr) is doing a good job working into it. There's another practice tomorrow before qualifying so we can give him more laps to get used to the car."
ALAN GURR QUOTES: "My session began with a wet track and I started on 'slicks'. It's the first time I've driven a V8 Supercar in the wet since Wakefield Park earlier in the year (in the Konica-Minolta Series). When the track started to dry I came in and they put some slicks on the car for some quicker laps near the end.
"I drove within myself today, because even when the track started to dry it was still wet off the racing line. It's a fine line between finding the best place to brake without over-shooting it, or being too slow. I'm still getting familiar with the car and I've been comparing my data with what Paul is doing and that's a big help."
RESULTS – PRACTICE (combined times from both sessions):
POS DRIVERS CAR TIME
1. M. Ambrose-G. Ritter Pirtek Ford Falcon 1:10.600
2. R. Ingall-C. McLean Caltex Havoline Ford Falcon 1:10.795
3. D. Besnard-N. McFadyen WPS Ford Falcon 1:11.021
4. S. Ellery-L. Youlden Super Cheap Auto Ford Falcon 1:11.066
5. J. Bowe-B. Jones OzEmail Ford Falcon 1:11.179
6. M. Skaife-T. Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore 1:11.312
7. P. Morris-A. Gurr Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore 1:11.435
8. R. Kelly-G. Murphy Kmart Holden Commodore 1:11.611
9. J. Bright-P. Weel PWR Holden Commodore 1:11.625
10. S. Wills-P. Stokell Team Dynamik Holden Commodore 1:11.687
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after round 8): Bright 1,308; Ambrose 1,295; S. Richards 1,261; R. Kelly 1,197; Ingall 1,159, Murphy 1,108; T. Kelly 1,059; Tander 975; Bowe 836; Bargwanna 790. Other: Morris 733
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