Paul Morris Bathurst qualifying notes

Morris charges into top 15 shoot-out at Bathurst.

Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore driver Paul Morris has qualified for the Top 15 Shoot Out in the Bob Jane T-Marts Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar Championship race for the second successive year.

Morris secured a start in tomorrow's one-lap Shoot Out by finishing in the top 15 in today's qualifying session for the 10th round of the championship. Lap times in the Shoot Out will determine the top 15 starting grid positions for the 1,000km endurance race on Sunday.

Morris finished 14th fastest in qualifying with a best lap time of 2-mins 10.149-secs around the 6.2km Mount Panorama circuit in a VX Commodore. The 33-year-old from Queensland's Gold Coast, who is driving at Bathurst with Brisbane's Wayne Wakefield, set the time toward the end of the session, held in fine conditions.

After clocking his quickest lap, Morris attempts to improve his time were thwarted when he spun off the track at 200km/h in fourth gear after driving over power steering fluid in front of him. The fluid was deposited by the Shell Helix Ford Falcon of Greg Ritter and Alan Jones. Morris' car stopped in a sand-trap near a trackside wall, but his machine was not damaged.

During the opening practice session yesterday Morris recorded a best lap of 2-mins 12.648-secs. His qualifying time was an improvement of 2.499-secs.

Dual race winner John Bowe qualified fastest for the Shoot Out in the OzEmail Ford Falcon he is sharing with Brad Jones in a time of 2-mins 8.387-secs, followed by championship leader Mark Skaife and Jim Richards in a Holden Racing Team Commodore.

David Besnard, who won the previous round of the championship over 500km at Queensland Raceway on September 15, will not race on Sunday after team-mate and former 500cc motorcycle world champion Wayne Gardner crashed their Caltex Havoline Ford Falcon at the end of Mountain Straight during the second practice session. The car was withdrawn from the race after team manager Ross Stone said it could not be repaired before the race.

PAUL MORRIS QUOTES: "We ran with three sets of new tyres in qualifying, and I was pretty happy with my (lap) time. Every session we put the car on the track and go quicker than before so that's encouraging for the race. I've got another new set of tyres for the Shoot Out tomorrow so maybe we can improve a few positions. At the same time we won't be taking any big risks because one quick qualifying lap isn't going to win the race for anyone on Sunday. Our only drama was near the end of the (qualifying) session today when I spun off. I was right behind (Greg) Ritter and I saw smoke. I lifted off, but then I hit the fluid and went sideways across Skyline. Somehow I didn't hit anything and stopped in a sandtrap. The sandtrap did it's job because it saved the car and me." <pre> V8 SUPERCAR RESULTS -- QUALIFYING (for top 15 Shoot Out): POS DRIVERS CAR TIME 1. John Bowe-John Bowe OzEmail Ford Falcon 2:08.387 2. Mark Skaife-Jim Richards Holden Racing Team Commodore 2:08.404 3. Jason Bright-Tomas Mezera Holden Racing Team Commodore 2:09.017 4. Steven Richards-Russell Ingall Castrol Perkins Holden Commodore 2:09.140 5. Craig Lowndes-Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon 2:09.355 6. Max Wilson-Dean Canto Betta Electrical Ford Falcon 2:09.465 7. Steve Ellery-Luke Youlden Super Cheap Auto Ford Falcon 2:09.638 8. Garth Tander-Jason Bargwanna Valvoline Holden Commodore 2:09.663 9. Larry Perkins-Paul Dumbrell Castrol Perkins Holden Commodore 2:09.693 10. Greg Murphy-Todd Kelly Kmart Holden Commodore 2:09.746 11. Marcos Ambrose-Paul Weel Pirtek Racing Ford Falcon 2:09.810 12. Glenn Seton-Owen Kelly Ford Credit Falcon 2:10.047 13. Rick Kelly-Nathan Pretty Holden Young Lions Commodore 2:10.097 14. Paul Morris-Wayne Wakefield Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore 2:10.149 15. Greg Ritter-Alan Jones Shell Helix Ford Falcon 2:10.156

-pmr-