PWR Racing confirms enduro duo
14/8/2004 15:17 (Press Release) -
PWR Racing has invited Konica Minolta V8 Supercar front-runner Matthew White to join its ranks for the 2004 enduro races at Sandown and Bathurst, pairing with its 2003 enduro driver Marcus Marshall who makes a welcome return.
With series leader Jason Bright and teammate Paul Weel to again join forces in the PWR Racing #50 VY Commodore, White and Marshall will form a potent and capable combination in the #16 car.
White, currently fifth in Konica Minolta standings and an experienced Sandown-Bathurst campaigner, said he was confident of a good showing in the two races. “It’s always a big ask but we know the car’s good,” he said. “Somewhere in the top 10 would be an outstanding effort given that neither Marcus nor I pilot one of these things on a regular basis.
“It will be great to get there and just concentrate on being a driver. They definitely have some of the quickest cars in the game.”
Regular PWR driver Paul Weel was delighted to welcome White to the fold. “There’s no doubt White’s a good steerer. He’s been very reliable over the years and never done anything stupid in the 500 or 1000km races. I think it’s a great choice we’ve made,” he said.
Weel believes the White/Marshall car has every chance of a great result. “Last year our second car was running in fourth place with just a couple of laps to go when the engine let go. It just shows what can happen when you get a couple of good co-drivers together.”
Marshall, currently in Europe contesting the British Formula 3 Championship with the Fortec Motorsport team, said he was looking forward to returning to V8 racing.
“I really enjoyed my time with the team last year, it’s a highly professional outfit and we were a bit unlucky last year not to have an outstanding result at Bathurst,” he said.
“I’m pleased they thought enough of me to bring me back for another go, I won’t get the chance to test the car before Sandown but at least I’ll have last year’s experience to draw on.”
Bright, meanwhile, will arrive at next week’s Oran Park round in the same position he was in at the corresponding time last year – leading the series – but facing an entirely different set of circumstances.
“Last year we lost the lead at Oran Park, having held it since Round 2, and never got it back again,” he said. “This year we’ve just moved into the lead, and we’ll be aiming to consolidate that.
“There’s no complacency here, we saw at Winton how quickly the championship can be turned on its head. But our season has been building in momentum very nicely as we’ve got a handle on the VY chassis and we’ve lacked all the dramas we had last year with lack of testing.
“We’re a lot more stable and consistent than last year and if we can keep that up, it’s going to count at the end of the series.”
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