The Dude's Second Coming

20 years after he dominated aussie super tourers, paul ‘the dirty, dangerous dude’ morris has ditched his bad boy image to help young drivers. Here’s how

- Cameron Kirby

The racer’s university

WORLD’S COOLEST CLASSROOM

Founded by Frank Gardner in the late ’80s, and now owned and run by Morris, the Norwell Motorplex is located just north of the Gold Coast. Its centerpiece is a 2.2km circuit, capable of running in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. A $4 million expansion began in 2016, which will culminate in a track extension lengthening the circuit to 4km. At the center of the facility is a polished cement skid pan which can be run in wet and dry conditions, along with a mechanical turntable that can induce forced oversteer. Morris houses multiple vehicles for driver training at the facility, ranging from standard road cars to full-blown racers.

YOU EITHER LOVE him or hate him. Paul Morris is easily Australia’s most controversial racer, and his antics both on and off-track have divided motorsport fans across the nation for more than two decades. His credentials are beyond dispute. The only man to have won all three endurance races at Mount Panorama (the 6 hours, 12 hours, and 1000) and a four-time Super Tourer champion, he’s a dab hand at anything he drives, from Indy Lights and touring cars to Stadium Super Trucks. This year marks 20 years since his last Super Tourer title, where he won all bar one of the season’s 17 races.