Steve Owen.
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6:00 AM Mon 9 January, 2012
Source: BigPond Sport
STEVE Owen returned full-time to the V8 Supercars Championship in 2011 in a VIP Petfoods Commodore for Paul Morris Motorsports.
There were glimpses of form but all in all it was another tough season for the Queensland-based PMM squad.
The two-time V8 Supercars Development Series champion shone on occasion, but maintaining consistency was the key issue for the team which, despite using Triple Eight chassis and KRE Engines, couldn’t come close to the powerhouse TeamVodafone that Owen drove for in the 2010 endurance races.
BigPond Sport downloaded with Owen about his season.
Championship Position: 17th
Best Race Result: 5th (Hamilton, QLD Raceway)
Best Qualifying: 3rd (Hamilton)
What is your highlight of the 2011 season?
I’d say having Paul Morris Motorsport’s highest-ever qualifying effort at Bathurst, which was also my first time in the Shootout at Bathurst.
What is your funniest moment from 2011?
There are lots of funny moments when you drive for Paul Morris and have him on your radio …!
What are you getting up to during the off-season break?
Anything but sitting at an airport! There’s a whole heap to do around the house so it’s going to be a fairly boring holiday in the suburbs and doing stuff around the house.
What was the race that got away from you this year?
Probably the first race at Sandown. We were quite speedy, we qualified eighth or ninth and got up to around sixth in the first few laps and had the same pace as Courtney. Then we got water in the electrics, which caused a misfire and that ruined any chance we had of a podium.
We thought we were on for one, but we still finished 10th even with a misfire for the last 45 laps. We had good car pace but it’s one you look back on and can only think we were on for a good result.
New Year’s Resolution?
To start off the year at Adelaide where we left off at the end of 2011 in Sydney and build upon that.
2012 Goal?
We aimed to be in the top 10 by the end of the season in the championship but we had too many DNFs along the way. The first thing to aim for is top 10 in the championship and more top five results. I think this year we had half a dozen and that was about it. We need to double that rather than occasionally look like we’re good enough to be on the podium.
2011 Rating out of 10?
I’d have to say 7.5. We were better than average but didn’t do all the things we wanted to do. We showed glimpses of speed, we got into Top 10 Shootouts but too many times we made mistakes – choosing the wrong strategy and those sorts of things.
