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12^th March, 2002

Something old for Morris, something new for Jones & Crompton

Brad Jones and Neil Crompton will debut brand-new Falcons at this weekend’s Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

Jones’ new OzEmail mount was built in record time – just four weeks – after last-minute delays in constructing the roll cage.  His old Falcon, the car new teammate John Bowe will pilot this week, took more than four months to complete.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank my entire team for the fantastic effort they have put in over the last month,” said Jones.

“When we built the last car it took us four months and we thought that was quick.  To have this one done in under four weeks is just amazing.”

Jones said the Peter Beehag-manufactured body shell features a revolutionary new design, increasing strength while significantly reducing the car’s weight.

00 Motorsport’s Neil Crompton, returning to the V8 Supercar circuit fulltime this season, will debut the Melbourne-based team’s second in-house built AU XR8 racer in Adelaide.

"The team has been working overtime putting my new car together and I can't wait to finally get behind the wheel,” said Crompton, who put the car through its paces at Winton Raceway today.

Crompton will be desperately hoping the car is quick out-of-the-box tomorrow, when he faces a daunting pre-qualifying assignment at Mallala Raceway.

Queenslander Paul Morris, meanwhile, has delayed the debut of his new VX Commodore until after the Clipsal 500.

Morris will drive last year’s Commodore in Adelaide, a package he says will be more reliable over the marathon distance.

Morris admitted his team struggled to come to terms with the new Dunlop control tyre at the Grand Prix meeting in Melbourne but, after a gruelling test session at Queensland Raceway yesterday, he believes he can find a better set-up in Adelaide.

"It would have been hard this weekend trying to dial-in a new car, as well as chasing better grip," he said. Morris will now debut the new car at the next round of the championship at Phillip Island Raceway.