All on for young and old in BNT NZ SuperTourers   2 Sep 2014

BNT V8 SuperTourers

All on for young and old in BNT NZ SuperTourers


Andre Heimgartner and Paul Morris make a contrasting pair as they team up for the BNT NZ SuperTourers endurance series, the first section of the 2014-15 championship.

Just turned 19, Aucklander Heimgartner will be the youngest driver in the fast field that grids up for the Rush Security Taupo 400 on September 27-28, while Australian Morris at 46 will be by far the oldest.

“We’ve got the most inexperienced and the most experienced drivers together, a bit of a contrast,” Heimgartner says.

“His experience is really valuable, just in how you do pit stops and all that sort of stuff – he’s done that a million times so he knows exactly what frame of mind you need to be in, so it definitely has helped me and the team having him there.”

Morris, nicknamed the Dude, also brings valuable expertise when it comes to fine-tuning the car setup for each track and each set of conditions. His career includes V8 Supercars, two-litre Super Touring cars and New Zealand’s TraNZam championship.

“Obviously Paul’s had a lot of experience so he can point out the little things that I sometimes miss out on,” Heimgartner says. “Even if he’s not as fast as me at times he still can set the car up better than me so it’s really beneficial to have him there, it makes a big difference. It’s very valuable.”

Heimgartner might be young but he is fast and he has already accumulated plenty of experience himself. He currently stands third in Australia’s Dunlop V8 Supercars Development Series, he came fifth in the 2014 BNT NZ SuperTourers championship, and he has been contracted by legendary Supercars team Dick Johnson Racing (DJR).

“This is my fourth season in SuperTourers and I did a season in Porsches and two seasons in the Dunlop V8 Supercars. For my age I’ve done a lot of racing but I’ve still got a way to go.

“DJR sort of spotted me and I signed a two-year driver development programme with them. I can use their gym facilities and all that. They’ve helped me a lot with knowledge of how the whole industry works and I’ve really appreciated what they’ve done for me.”

Although Heimgartner is taller and slimmer than Morris, they can both use the same seating position, which saves time when they come into the pits to change drivers.

“We just hop in and out, a bit of a compromise but it’s not too bad.”

The contrasting connection came about through Heimgartner’s mechanic Todd Bickerton, a friend of Morris’s.

“He told Paul that he should come over and say hello. And the next Tuesday he actually he came over and tested the SuperTourer. We’ve been good mates and he’s helped me out with SuperTourer drives for the last three years.”

Meanwhile Heimgartner is preparing for his first assault on the Bathurst 1000km race, partnering fellow BNT NZ SuperTourers driver Ant Pedersen in a Ford Falcon prepared by Ford Performance Racing for the new Kiwi-owned Super Black team.

“It’s a great privilege to be able to race a car there, especially for a team representing New Zealand,” Heimgartner says. “There’s definitely added pressure there but at the end of the day Ant and I just need to get the job done and make it to the last lap.”

ends


Add a comment

News

Hilary Timmins' Award-Winning UK Documentary Series To Inspire NZ Students

29 Jun 2020 Education
Dream Catchers, produced and directed by Hilary Timmins, celebrates the success stories of more than thirty inspirational New... more

New Zealand reaffirms support for Flight MH17 judicial process

7 Mar 2020 News By Rt HON WINSTON PETERS
Ahead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to... more

Business

NZ Government's Economic package to fight COVID-19

17 Mar 2020 Business News By RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
The Coalition Government has launched the most significant peace-time economic plan in modern New Zealand history to cushion the... more

NZ Government announces aviation relief package

19 Mar 2020 Business News By Hon Phil Twyford
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today outlined the first tranche of the $600 million aviation sector relief package announced earlier... more

Living

Diversity was Key at New Zealand Trade Tasting in London

6 Jun 2022 Food & Wine
New Zealand Winegrowers Annual Trade Tasting was recently held in London, on Wednesday 4 May, in Lindley Hall. It was the first... more

Kiwi author stuns Behind the Butterfly Gate

12 Jan 2022 Arts By Charlotte Everett
Hidden behind the Butterfly Gate is where the secret has been kept for 76 years...  New Zealand writer Merryn Corcoran’s... more

Property

Fairer rules for tenants and landlords

17 Nov 2019 Property By Minister Kris Faafoi
17 NOVEMBER 2019 The Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer... more

New Zealand Government will not implement a Capital Gains Tax

17 Apr 2019 Property By RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
The Coalition Government will not proceed with the Tax Working Group’s recommendation for a capital gains tax, Jacinda Ardern... more

Migration

Boosting border security with electronic travel authority – now over 500,000 issued

19 Nov 2019 Migration By Hon Iain Lees-Galloway
19 NOVEMBER 2019 We’ve improved border security with the NZeTA, New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority, which helps us to... more

Christchurch reinstated as refugee settlement location

18 Aug 2018 Migration
18 AUGUST 2018 HON IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY The announcement that Christchurch can once again be a settlement location for refugees... more

Travel

Gallipoli Anzac Day services cancelled

19 Mar 2020 Travel & Tourism By RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
The New Zealand and Australian Governments have announced this year’s joint Anzac Day services at Gallipoli will be cancelled... more

New Zealanders advised not to travel overseas

19 Mar 2020 Travel & Tourism
New Zealanders advised not to travel overseas more

Sport

The Skipper's Diary: Sir Richard Hadlee honouring his father and NZ's Forty-Niners

27 Oct 2019 Cricket By Charlotte Everett
NZNewsUK London Editor Charlotte Everett spoke to Sir Richard Hadlee about why he’s chosen to publish his father’s... more

PREVIEW: All Blacks v England semi-final

26 Oct 2019 Rugby
The two most convincing quarterfinals winners are set to square off in a semifinal showdown for the ages when the All Blacks meet old... more

Columns

Gordon Campbell on the Gareth Morgan crusade

11 Nov 2016 Opinion
Gordon Campbell on the Gareth Morgan crusade First published on Werewolf The ghastly likes of Marine Le Pen in France and Geert ... more

Gordon Campbell on the US election outcome

10 Nov 2016 Opinion
Column - Gordon Campbell   Gordon Campbell on the US election outcome Well um.. on the bright side, there (probably)... more

Kiwi Success

Congratulations to Loder Cup winner

26 Sep 2018 People By Hon Eugenie Sage
25 SEPTEMBER 2018 The Loder Cup, one of New Zealand’s oldest conservation awards, has been awarded to Robert McGowan for 2018... more

Appointments to New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO

16 Aug 2018 Appointments
16 AUGUST 2018Appointments to New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO HON JENNY SALESA Associate Education Minister Jenny Salesa is... more

Recruitment

Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers

14 Aug 2018 Recruitment By RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
14 AUGUST 2018Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers RT HON JACINDA ARDERN HON CHRIS HIPKINS Prime Minister The... more

Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers

22 Aug 2018 Recruitment By RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
14 AUGUST 2018Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers RT HON JACINDA ARDERN HON CHRIS HIPKINS Prime Minister The... more