Paul Morris

Background:

Paul Morris (born 22.12.67) grew up in Gippsland, in rural Victoria, and moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland in 1977 with his family. He has lived on the Gold Coast since then.

Morris made his motor racing debut in the Queensland Gemini Championship in 1987, claiming the Rookie of the Year award, and he won the title the following year (1988).

He then had three years driving in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, finishing third in 1990. In 1991 he won the Class C title in his Bathurst 1000 debut in a Toyota Corolla with Geoff Full.

Morris joined the works BMW team, operated by former Australian international driver Frank Gardner on the Gold Coast, in 1992 and contested the Australian Touring Car Championship in an M3, finishing ninth in the series.

Later that year (1992) Morris also won the Nissan-Mobil 500 race at Wellington in New Zealand, and finished second in the Sandown 500 in Melbourne. He drove a BMW M3 in both events.

The following year in 1993 Morris again drove a BMW M3 for Gardner's team in the Australian Touring Car Championship, and was 16th in the series.

In 1994 Morris drove a works BMW 318i in the inaugural Australian 2.0L Super Touring Championship, and a Holden Commodore in the Australian Touring Car Championship for V8s.

Morris won six races in the 1994 Super Touring championship on the way to finishing runner-up in the series, while he was 13th in the V8 touring car championship. Toward the end of 1994 he drove to 10th outright and first in Class B in the Bathurst 1000 with German Altfred Heger in a BMW 318i.

In 1995 Morris claimed the Australian 2.0L Super Touring Championship title for the first time, winning eight of the 16 races in a works BMW 318i. The following year (1996) he finished runner-up in the championship.

Morris had a successful 1997 Super Touring racing campaign, winning the Australian championship again in a works BMW 320i. He also claimed pole position for the Bathurst 1000 in 1997, ahead of British Touring Car Champions Alain Menu, Tim Harvey, and John Cleland.

In 1998 Morris ventured overseas and drove for PacWest Racing in the PPG Dayton Indy Lights Championship in the United States. His best result was sixth in the opening round at Homestead.

Morris returned to Australia in 1999 and established his own team (Paul Morris Motorsports) on the Gold Coast. He drove an ex-works BMW 320i in the Australian 2.0L Super Touring Championship and won 10 races to clinch the title for the third time.

In 1999 Morris also won the feature 500km event on a rain-soaked Mount Panorama track on the first weekend of October, and the following month he further enhanced his reputation by finishing first and second in the two races in the Guia Super Touring series at the annual Macau Grand Prix.

Morris also made an impact in the V8 Supercar category in 1999, finishing third in the 1,000km endurance race at Bathurst with Mark Skaife in a Holden Racing Team Commodore.

In 2000 Morris opted to contest both the Australian Super Touring Championship and the V8 Supercar Series with his own team.

He won a record fourth Australian Super Touring Championship in a BMW 320i, with 16 race victories from 17 starts, and also drove a Holden Commodore to 19th position in the V8 series. His V8 program was hampered by a serious start-line accident at Sydney's Oran Park when his car burst into flames after being struck from behind and he was hospitalised with back injuries.

Morris burst into the V8 Supercar limelight in the 2001 championship round at Calder Park. He emerged with his first round victory in the series, with two wins and a second from the three races in a Holden Commodore.

During 2001 Morris' team built their first 'in-house' Commodore at their new headquarters at the Holden Performance Driving Centre on the Gold Coast. The team utilised their own design, component-building, and engine development facilities, and built a second Commodore raced by Morris from the middle stages of the 2002 championship.

A highlight of Morris' 2002 campaign was a strong performance in the Bathurst 1000. Morris qualified for the prestigious Top 15 Shoot-Out, and in the race he and team-mate Wayne Wakefield were competitive.

They held second place at one stage and were rarely out of the top 10 until a mechanical problem resulted in Morris crashing out after 135 laps when in seventh position.

Paul Morris Motorsports' naming-rights sponsor in 2002 was Queensland-based Sirromet Wines, located at Mount Cotton between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Morris' team was again backed by Sirromet Wines in the 2003 championship.

In the 2003 championship, Morris' best race result was finishing fourth in the 300km event at Queensland Raceway. He finished 23rd in the championship. His performances also included qualifying in the 'Shoot Out' qualifying session in four of the 13 rounds.

Morris began the championship driving a VY Commodore, upgraded from a VX model. In mid-season he switched to a VY Commodore fitted with a Holden Motorsport engine. Toward the end of the year Morris also drove in the Bathurst 24-hour event at Mount Panorama and finished third in a Porsche 911 driving with Peter Fitzgerald, John Tuelan, and Scott Shearman.

In 2004 Morris again raced with Sirromet Wines as principal sponsor and finished 22nd in the 13-round championship. His best race results were sixth in the season-opening Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, and seventh in the final race of the year at Eastern Creek in Sydney.

During the season Morris had a high-speed crash at Pukekohe in New Zealand, and afterwards switched to another new VY Commodore built by his team.

Morris qualified for the 'Shoot Out' four times during the year, including the Bathurst 1000. His driving performances in 2004 included an impressive opening stint at Bathurst. He led the race at one stage, and was placed in the top five throughout his 31-lap stint.

In 2005 Morris competed in the championship in a new VZ Commodore, built by his team and sponsored by Sirromet Wines. He finished 19th in the championship, with a best race result of seventh in race one in the round at Hidden Valley near Darwin.

Morris had a total of four top 10 race finishes in the championship, and qualified for the Top 10 'Shoot Out' twice. He competed in the endurance events with New Zealand's Paul Radisich, and they were eighth in the Sandown 500, but did not finish the Bathurst 1000.

The Bathurst event was a notable milestone in Morris' career – it was his 100th championship round start.

Morris finished 21st in the 2006 championship driving a VZ Commodore sponsored by Sirromet Wines for a fifth successive year. The car was built by his team.

The highlights of his Morris' year were finishing sixth in the Bathurst 1000 and eighth in the Sandown 500 endurance races with co-driver Steve Ellery. Morris' other top 10 results were seventh placings in the second races of the rounds at Pukekohe in New Zealand and at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich.

In 2007 Morris was again sponsored by Sirromet Wines and he finished 22nd in the championship driving a VE Commodore. He scored championship points for top 15 finishes in 14 of the 37 races in the 14 rounds of the series.

Morris' best race result of 2007 was eighth position in the opening race of round four at Winton in Victoria. He drove with Steve Ellery in the two endurance races for a second successive year. They were 15th in the Sandown 500, but did not finish the Bathurst 1000.