New livery for Sirromet Wines Commodore V8 Supercar
17/3/2005 16:33 (Press Release) -
V8 Supercar driver Paul Morris will race with a freshly-designed livery on his new Sirromet Wines VZ Holden Commodore which will make its track debut in Melbourne this Thursday (March 3).
Gold Coast-based Morris will drive the VZ Commodore for the first time in the opening practice session for the V8 Supercar events at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, and then contest three races over 10 laps on Friday, 19 laps on Saturday, and 10 laps on Sunday.
The 600-horsepower Holden was completed last night at the Paul Morris Motorsports workshop at the Holden Performance Driving Centre, and then packed into the team's transporter which departed for Melbourne this morning.
Morris said he was delighted with the new livery, which features flame designs on the front and rear side-panels, replacing orange and silver stripes from designs on the previous Commodores he raced since Sirromet Wines became the team's principal sponsor in 2002.
Another livery change includes the rear of the car, and the lower side panels being switched from grey to black. As previously announced, Morris will also race with a new number this year, 67, replacing the number 29 he has used in V8 Supercars since 2000.
"The flames look great, and with the extra black panels it gives the car a more aggressive appearance than what we've been running run in Sirromet colours the last few seasons," said Morris.
"We felt that since we're starting the year with a with the new VZ (Commodore) and a different number then it was a good time to make some changes to the paintwork – I think it's going to be one of the best looking cars on the track."
Morris' new car, which he will also race in this year's 13-round V8 Supercar Championship, is the product of almost 800 man-hours of work.
The VZ Commodore was designed by PMM Technical Manager Paul Ceprnich and built 'in-house' at the team's headquarters utilising Computer Aided Design-Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAM).
"We've had eight staff doing extended shifts and eating three meals a day at the workshop in the last week or so to get the new car finished for Melbourne," said Morris.
The three races in Melbourne will be held on the 5.3km Albert Park circuit.
"I'm keen to do well at Albert Park, but equally important it's also a good chance for us to test the new car and get some data on set-ups before the (V8 Supercar) championship starts," said Morris.
The championship will begin with the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide from March 17-20.
PMM have expanded staff to 20 in the off-season, including recruiting ex-Dick Johnson Racing engine technician Alan Draper. The team have also entered into a technical partnership with Team Kiwi Racing, who have relocated to PMM's premises. Morris' team have built a new VZ Commodore for TKR, to be raced this year by New Zealand driver Paul Radisich.
Release Date: 27/02/2005
Sirromet Wines - PMM
|
|
