Post by TC Ink on Dec 5, 2008 12:25:41 GMT 10
Paul Morris to stand aside
Release date: 05/12/2008
Paul ‘The Dude’ Morris has decided to wind back his V8 Supercar driving duties in 2009 in an effort to take his Supercheap Auto Racing team to the next level.
“I still might do some races; just not all of them,” Morris told BigPond Sport when asked if he was going to step out of his Commodore for the sprint race season.
Morris believes he can better serve the team by focussing on leading it from the garage on race weekends.
“At the moment I think I can be more help to the team out of the car rather than in it. I can help get things better organised and focus on trying to move the team forward,” he said.
Morris indicated that trying to concentrate on driving and managing a team is “a hard thing to do”.
He believes that with the right structure and leadership in place that his teammate, Russell Ingall – who has been a front-runner this season – can win the 2009 Championship for the team.
“I think we can win the Championship… I don’t see why we can’t get that Championship for Russell, no problem!
“We have just got the team to a certain level and to take it to the next level; it needs a bit of leadership from me in the garage area.”
Morris said that the difference between a good team and a great team is its ability to turn around a bad situation.
“We are good at doing things well when they go right, but when they go wrong, we could do things better,” he said.
“I think the points that we have been scoring in the second part of the Championship (this year) have been good and when you look at a team like Triple Eight, it’s how they respond to things that don’t go right that wins them the Championship.
“They maximise their loss; if it’s not right they don’t lose the plot. That’s something that we can do better, and I think it will work better if I am in the garage. That’s where I can help, (by) showing a bit of direction; I can be more of a help in the organisation rather than driving a car at the moment.”
Morris said there would be no other changes to the team’s personnel, but he wants to put a good strategy in place for 2009.
“We need to sit down and analyse everything we have done this year and have a good look at where we are going and where we want to get to next year and work out a plan and try to stick to it and then we should end up where we want to be,” he said.
“That’s what worked for us this year. We had a good plan in place and we stuck to it and exceeded where we thought we would get to.
“I think with the people we have got here and the resources; I think if we map out a really good strategy for next year and get ourselves organised I don’t see why we can’t get ourselves to that next level.”
When asked who will replace him in the driver’s seat in the races he doesn’t compete in, Morris joked: “I am trying to get Michael Schumacher at the moment”.
He indicated that he would like to test some young drivers, but the rules won’t allow it. At this stage, he said, there are only two drivers he believes could step staight into the car, Steve Owen and Lee Holdsworth, but Lee is contracted to Garry Rogers Motorsport for next year.
However, he indicated that he hasn’t really had the time to sit down and look at what drivers may be available, but he noted there are many young talented drivers in the country worth considering, even those currently racing in categories outside of V8 Supercars.
Morris may even look at some of his fellow competitors in the Aussie Racing Cars series that he currently competes in.
Morris stressed that he will definitely be back for the Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance races in 2009.
“(Winning a V8 event at) Bathurst is definitely a goal,” he said.
Author:Allan Edwards
Source:BigPond Sport - copyright
Release date: 05/12/2008
Paul ‘The Dude’ Morris has decided to wind back his V8 Supercar driving duties in 2009 in an effort to take his Supercheap Auto Racing team to the next level.
“I still might do some races; just not all of them,” Morris told BigPond Sport when asked if he was going to step out of his Commodore for the sprint race season.
Morris believes he can better serve the team by focussing on leading it from the garage on race weekends.
“At the moment I think I can be more help to the team out of the car rather than in it. I can help get things better organised and focus on trying to move the team forward,” he said.
Morris indicated that trying to concentrate on driving and managing a team is “a hard thing to do”.
He believes that with the right structure and leadership in place that his teammate, Russell Ingall – who has been a front-runner this season – can win the 2009 Championship for the team.
“I think we can win the Championship… I don’t see why we can’t get that Championship for Russell, no problem!
“We have just got the team to a certain level and to take it to the next level; it needs a bit of leadership from me in the garage area.”
Morris said that the difference between a good team and a great team is its ability to turn around a bad situation.
“We are good at doing things well when they go right, but when they go wrong, we could do things better,” he said.
“I think the points that we have been scoring in the second part of the Championship (this year) have been good and when you look at a team like Triple Eight, it’s how they respond to things that don’t go right that wins them the Championship.
“They maximise their loss; if it’s not right they don’t lose the plot. That’s something that we can do better, and I think it will work better if I am in the garage. That’s where I can help, (by) showing a bit of direction; I can be more of a help in the organisation rather than driving a car at the moment.”
Morris said there would be no other changes to the team’s personnel, but he wants to put a good strategy in place for 2009.
“We need to sit down and analyse everything we have done this year and have a good look at where we are going and where we want to get to next year and work out a plan and try to stick to it and then we should end up where we want to be,” he said.
“That’s what worked for us this year. We had a good plan in place and we stuck to it and exceeded where we thought we would get to.
“I think with the people we have got here and the resources; I think if we map out a really good strategy for next year and get ourselves organised I don’t see why we can’t get ourselves to that next level.”
When asked who will replace him in the driver’s seat in the races he doesn’t compete in, Morris joked: “I am trying to get Michael Schumacher at the moment”.
He indicated that he would like to test some young drivers, but the rules won’t allow it. At this stage, he said, there are only two drivers he believes could step staight into the car, Steve Owen and Lee Holdsworth, but Lee is contracted to Garry Rogers Motorsport for next year.
However, he indicated that he hasn’t really had the time to sit down and look at what drivers may be available, but he noted there are many young talented drivers in the country worth considering, even those currently racing in categories outside of V8 Supercars.
Morris may even look at some of his fellow competitors in the Aussie Racing Cars series that he currently competes in.
Morris stressed that he will definitely be back for the Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance races in 2009.
“(Winning a V8 event at) Bathurst is definitely a goal,” he said.
Author:Allan Edwards
Source:BigPond Sport - copyright
The amount of safety cars per race has just been reduced.
