Paul Morris Motorsport
| Team Principal | Paul Morris |
|---|---|
| Debut | 2000 |
| Final Season | 2011 |
| Round wins | 1 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| 2011 position | 10th |
Paul Morris Motorsport, sometimes known as Nemo Racing, was an Australian motor racing team. Based throughout its 20 plus year existence on the Gold Coast in South East Queensland, the team most recently competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship and the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series with a trio of Holden Commodores.
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[edit] Background
The team, which originated in 1989 as a Formula Ford team, had a long relationship with BMW's works supported operation, winning four Super Touring titles with that manufacturer. The Super Touring team's main sponsor was Diet Coke.
[edit] V8 Supercar era
In 2000, Paul Morris Motorsport joined the V8 Supercar Series. Morris had gained experience during 1999 as an enduro driver for the Holden Racing Team. The team was first sponsored by www.awine4u.com.au but then the more well known Big Kev, an Australian cleaning products company, during its first two seasons. In 2001, the team won its first race at Calder Park Raceway. In 2002, Big Kev was replaced by Sirromet Wines, a Queensland winery owned by the Morris family.
Paul Morris Motorsports completed its first all new in-house V8 Supercar in 2001. Since then, the team has built a number of Commodore race cars for its own use and for clients, as well as manufacturing its own specialised components. In 2005, Team Sirromet again expanded its engineering services and supplied a car and crew for Team Kiwi Racing. In 2006, the team began entering two cars in each V8 Supercar round; one driven by Morris, and the other shared between Fabian Coulthard, Alan Gurr and Steven Ellery. In the 2007 season, Coulthard was the full-time driver of the #39 Commodore while Paul Morris remained in car #67. After the enduros races Coulthard was replaced in the #39 by Owen Kelly.
2005 V8 Supercar champion Russell Ingall joined the team in 2008 under the new label Supercheap Auto Racing. This brought about an immediate upswing in form with Ingall scoring regular top ten finishing positions. Morris retired at the end of the season and was replaced by former Fujitsu Series driver Tim Slade in a deal brokered by former V8 Supercar team owner James Rosenberg, who also took on ownership of Slade's car. Rosenberg and Slade moved on after the 2009 season.
In 2010 Greg Murphy replaced Tim Slade, after Slade and backer James Rosenberg set up their own team away from PMM.[1] The teams new Holdens were acquired by Triple Eight Race Engineering.
After a season where the team again finished eighth in the championship, Murphy left the team and reigning second-tier V8 Supercar champion Steve Owen took over the team's second Holden for the 2011 season.[2]
The team finished tenth in 2011, the lowest of the two car teams. During the off-season it was announced that the teams two Racing Entitlement Contracts would be leased to Tekno Autosports and Dick Johnson Racing for 2012. It remains to be seen if the team will compete in 2012 beyonf Morris' commitments to speedway Sprintcar racing.
[edit] References
- ^ "Murph confirmed as PMM driver". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. 2009-12-17. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/december_09/murph_confirmed_as_pmm_driver/. Retrieved 2009-12-22.
- ^ "Biggest opportunity of my career: Owen". Speedcafe. 2010-12-21. http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2010/12/21/biggest-opportunity-of-my-career-owen/. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
[edit] External links
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This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (October 2007) |
