R3 PRE-QUAL - Morris remains in V8 Supercar exile
26/4/2002 17:40 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Paul Morris is in V8 Supercar exile again tonight, after a nightmare pre-qualifying outing at Eastern Creek Raceway this afternoon.
Morris, who missed the cut for Phillip Island a fortnight ago with fuel injector problems, collided with Imrie Motorsport’s Steve Owen during today’s 15-minute pre-qualifying shootout, ruining his chances of qualification.
“He (Owen) had gone off and when he came back onto the track our cars hit," Morris said. "I had tried to move left to avoid him, but the load punctured the front (left) tyre and half-spun me."
With critical damage to his Commodore, Morris could only manage the tenth fastest time. Only the top seven qualified.
“It was a shame I didn't get an opportunity to put in a quick lap because I think we could have made the cut no problems. Hopefully our luck will change soon."
Morris looked to have an advantage today, with his failure to qualify at the last round leaving him with fresh tyres for his Eastern Creek qualification attempt. But a last-minute rule change saw new tyres awarded to all pre-qualifiers.
"I deliberately didn't do any testing in the last couple of weeks so I'd have new tyres for pre-qualifying,” Morris said.
Wayne Gardner was another high-profile casualty; robbed of a start in one of the few V8 Supercar events he’s been scheduled to appear at for Stone Brothers Racing this year.
"I've never failed to qualify in any form of motor racing before, so that's just how tough V8 racing has become in this country,” the former World 500c Motorcycle champion said.
Owen, Paul Romano, Anthony Tratt and Dugal McDougall were also culled from the field.
Brad Jones sat on the cusp of qualification after an unimposing performance in practice, but he quickly got on the pace when it mattered to top the time sheets and secure his grid position.
"Pre-qualifying is never easy, but our team got it together today," he said. “With the session so short, we needed to be on the money and that's where we were.”
Out-of-sorts Glenn Seton’s first pre-qualifying experience was a success, clocking the second fastest time.
Neil Crompton, Cameron McConville and Mark Larkham also qualified. And it was second time lucky for Cameron McLean and Dick Johnson Racing's Greg Ritter, who secured their entry after failing to do so at Phillip Island.
|
|
