Morris finds more speed in second race
9/11/2004 19:21 (Press Release) -
Queensland driver Paul Morris found more speed from his Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore and finished 15th in Sunday's second race of the 11th round of the V8 Supercar Championship on the Gold Coast
Morris struggled in Saturday's opening race in the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge, completing the 22-lap event in 20th position.
The 36-year-old said his Gold Coast-based team made suspension adjustments to the VY Commodore after race one, and that was a decisive factor in a more competitive performance in Sunday's 30-lap event.
Morris' best lap time around the 4.5km Surfers Paradise street circuit in the second race was 1-min 53.442-secs, an improvement of 0.530-secs on his quickest lap in the first race.
Greg Murphy won the second race in a Kmart Commodore in 1-hr 0-mins 46.364-secs, with Marcos Ambrose second in a Pirtek Ford Falcon.
Morris scored 93 championship points for his results at Surfers Paradise and is now 19th in the series with an overall tally of 954 points. Ambrose leads the championship with 1,856 points, followed by Jason Bright on 1,690 in a PWR Commodore.
PAUL MORRIS QUOTES: "We changed the springs and got a lot more speed out of the car for the second race. In the past I've never gone that well at Surfers (Paradise), but we finally got a 'handle' on the set-up. The car was changing direction much better in the fast stuff, and there was more grip in the slow corners.
"In the second race I concentrated on looking after my brakes. This track is hard on brakes and I thought I might be able to make up some places near the end if the others started having brake problems. However, then the Safety Car came out. I had a couple of scrapes and bumps in the first corner, but apart from that I got through the race without any incidents."
RESULTS – RACE 2 (30 laps):
POS DRIVERS CAR TIME
1. Greg Murphy Kmart Holden Commodore 1:00:46.364
2. Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Ford Falcon 1:00:47.507
3. Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore 1:00:49.018
4. Jason Bargwanna Orrcon Ford Falcon 1:00:50.545
5. Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore 1:00:50.866
6. Max Wilson Betta Electrical Ford Falcon 1:00:52.292
7. Cameron McConville Repco Valvoline Holden Commodore 1:00:52.561
8. Paul Radisich Betta Electrical Ford Falcon 1:00:53.117
9. Jason Richards Tasman Motorsports Holden Commodore 1:00:54.631
10. Steve Johnson Shell Helix Ford Falcon 1:00:55.015
OTHER:
15. Paul Morris Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore 1:00:57.647
FASTEST LAP: Ambrose 1-min 52.204-secs
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after round 11): Ambrose 1,856; Bright 1,690; Murphy 1,665; R. Kelly 1,622; Ingall 1,609; S. Richards 1,509; T. Kelly 1,483; Bargwanna 1,309; Bowe 1,293; Tander 1,251. Other: Morris 954
Release Date: 24/10/2004
Paul Morris Motorsport - Sirromet
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