GATORZ RACING ENDURES DRAMA-FILLED WEEKEND AT PUKEKOHE
Gatorz Racing supported drivers Paul Morris and Dean Canto endured a race meeting they would rather forget after both VE Commodores suffered extensive damage during round three of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Pukekohe Park Raceway, New Zealand, last weekend (April 21-22).
Paul Morris Motorsport lead driver Paul Morris escaped injury when his #67 Holden Commodore slammed into a trackside barrier at 190km/h and flipped upside down. Occurring after making contact with a competitor’s Falcon on lap six of the third and final 43-lap race, repair bill estimates are likely to rise over $100,000 with the race now on to repair the Commodore in time for the next round at Winton Motor Raceway. After forcing to withdraw from the first two races because of rising water temperatures and had to replace the engine between races two and three, the race three collision rounded out what was a disappointing weekend.
"I got in front of Brad [Jones] coming into the left-hander and passed him on the outside,” explained 39-year-old from the Gold Coast in Queensland. “I gave him heaps of room. Then I was hit in the rear [of the car] and flipped upside down. It wasn't real flash hanging upside down with the car running along on its roof. Once everything stopped I knew I was okay. “We won't know the whole situation until we get the car back to the workshop. For instance, the roll cage looks okay, but we need to put it on the chassis jig and measure everything. We also don't know if there is any internal damage to the engine."
Meanwhile, Gatorz Racing team-mate Dean Canto also endured a difficult weekend at the 2.8km circuit south of Auckland. While going through fast right-hander onto the straight in the third and final race, Canto suffered front end failure at 190km/h and also ploughed into the side barriers.
Having a tough start to the weekend, race one saw Canto get caught in a three-way battle for track position and spin on the first lap, relegating down two laps. But the Garry Rogers Motorsport driver used the opening race as a development session for testing various car setups and fought back hard to close in on to the top 15 by weekend’s end. On track to score valuable points in race three, it was then Canto suffered the high-speed accident caused by what seem to have been brake issues.
“I got a really good start but had a brake lock up at hairpin [turn five] earlier on and dropped back to 23rd but we had good speed to regain our ground in race three,” said Canto.
“We were also struggling with too much top end speed at the part of the circuit where we crashed but when I went into the last turn that time around, the brakes went flat to the floor and that’s when I went straight into concrete wall.
“We don’t know why it happened and it will be alot of work making a full assessment because there’s so much damage. Our next test session [at Winton Motor Raceway] is also in jeopardy as we try and rebuild the car in time for the next round.”
On the Championship ladder, Canto sits in 20th with eight points while Morris is in 23rd with four points.
The Gatorz Racing supporter drivers will next compete at the fourth round of the V8 Supercar Championship series at Winton Motor Raceway on May 18-20.
To find out more about the Gatorz Racing team visit their
Official Website.
- Surfeyes.com
