Morris delayed by another incident in Tasmania
29/11/2004 18:35 (Press Release) -
Queensland driver Paul Morris was delayed by a second incident in 24 hours involving his Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore when the 12th round of the V8 Supercar Championship was completed in Tasmania today.
The round comprised three 42-lap races on the 2.4km Symmons Plains circuit near Launceston.
Morris was forced out of yesterday's opening race on lap one when his VY Commodore was damaged by contact with Paul Dumbrell's Castrol Perkins Holden Commodore and the Shell Helix Ford Falcon raced by Warren Luff.
In today's second race, the rear of Morris' car was damaged again after contact with the Betta Electrical Falcon of Max Wilson. The incident resulted in Morris being delayed with a pit-stop of more than 5-mins while his car was repaired.
Morris was further slowed in the second race by a flat tyre on the left front of his car, which caused another pit stop of more than 2-mins. The two lengthy pit stops contributed to the 36-year-old finishing 30th and six laps down on the winning Pirtek Falcon of Marcos Ambrose.
In the third and final race Morris started from pit lane to avoid possible incidents on the opening lap. He charged through the field and finished 16th. Greg Murphy won the race in a Kmart Commodore.
Morris scored 40 points in the round and is now 22nd in the championship with an overall score of 997 points. Ambrose leads the championship with 1,982 points, with Murphy second on 1,831. The 13th and final round of the series will be held at Eastern Creek in Sydney on December 3-5.
PAUL MORRIS QUOTES: "After the dramas we had yesterday I'd been hoping for better results today. Unfortunately it wasn't the weekend we had been hoping for. In the second race today I had to pit after a tyre went flat, and then Max Wilson came together with my car at the 'hairpin'. We dropped a heap of laps getting the car fixed. The left rear guard was rubbing on the tyre.
"I decided to start the last race from pit-lane. We were near the back of the grid anyway, and I thought this would be the best way to stay out of trouble in the run to the 'hairpin'. I got through the first lap in good shape and things went well from then on. We did our pit-stop early and made up five positions and I was able to pass a few cars.
"It was good to actually get out there and race and the car was quick. Looking back on the weekend, things could have been a lot different if I'd been able to get through the first lap of yesterday's race without a scratch on the car."
RESULTS – RACE 2 (42 laps):
POS DRIVERS CAR TIME
1. Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Ford Falcon 40:46.997
2. Rick Kelly Kmart Holden Commodore 40:48.760
3. Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore 40:49.054
4. Greg Murphy Kmart Holden Commodore 40:50.597
5. Russell Ingall Caltex Havoline Ford Falcon 40:51.020
6. Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Falcon 40:51.429
7. Cameron McConville Repco Valvoline Holden Commodore 40:52.130
8. Steve Ellery SER Ford Falcon 40:56.655
9. Brad Jones OzEmail Ford Falcon 40:58.493
10. Steve Johnson Shell Helix Ford Falcon 41:00.221
OTHER:
30. Paul Morris Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore 36 laps
FASTEST LAP: T. Kelly 52.739-secs
RESULTS – RACE 3 (42 laps):
POS DRIVERS CAR TIME
1. Greg Murphy Kmart Holden Commodore 50:32.148
2. Russell Ingall Caltex Havoline Ford Falcon 50:32.524
3. Steven Richards Castrol Perkins Team Commodore 50:32.951
4. Cameron McConville Repco Valvoline Holden Commodore 50:35.653
5. Steven Johnson Shell Helix Ford Falcon 50:36.038
6. Warren Luff Shell Helix Ford Falcon 50:36.391
7. Steve Ellery SER Ford Falcon 50:36.787
8. Mark Winterbottom Orrcon Ford Falcon 50:37.122
9. Simon Wills Team Dynamik Holden Commodore 50:38.858
10. Craig Lowndes Ford Performance Racing Falcon 50:39.618
OTHER:
16. Paul Morris Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore 50:44.674
FASTEST LAP: T. Kelly 52.806-secs
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after round 12): Ambrose 1,982; Murphy 1,831; Ingall 1,782; Bright 1,780; R. Kelly 1,701; S. Richards 1,667; T. Kelly 1,513; Bowe 1,406; Bargwanna 1,406; Tander 1,320. Other: Morris 997
Release Date: 14/11/2004
Sirromet Wines - Paul Morris Motorsports
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