Paul Weel Racing was an Australian motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship Series between

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Ford Years

After some brief appearances in 1997 in minor events, Paul Weel Racing debuted in the

1998 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1998 Australian Touring Car Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to 5.0 Litre Touring Cars, (also known as V8 Supercars). The championship, which was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Au ...

with Paul Weel driving an ex

Longhurst Racing Longhurst Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the V8 Supercar series between 1995 Australian Touring Car season, 1995 and 1999 V8 Supercar Championship Series, 1999. History At the end of 1994, Tony Longhurst sold his ...

constructed

Ford EL Falcon The Ford Falcon (EL) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1996 to 1998. It was the fifth and final iteration of the fifth generation of the Ford Falcon (Australia), Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (EL)—the lux ...

. The year was highlighted by a ninth-place finish at the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...

. Unlike most other privateer teams who purchased older cars from the professional teams, Paul Weel Racing in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

built its own AU Falcon. A further four would be built by the end of

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Moving to Holden

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Paul Weel Racing became a satellite team of Walkinshaw Racing, who already ran the

Holden Racing Team Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team, initially branded as the Holden Racing Team, used to field Holden Commodores in the Supercars Championship before making the swit ...

and K-Mart Racing. Relocating to

Clayton, Victoria Clayton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 19 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District,Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...

and the team rebranded Team Brock. Two Walkinshaw Racing

Holden Commodore VX The Holden Commodore (VX) is a full-size car that was produced by Holden from 2000 to 2002, and 2000 to 2003 for Statesman/Caprice (WHII) and Holden Ute (VU) models. It was the second iteration of the third generation of the Commodore. Its range ...

s were transferred along with

Jason Bright Jason Paul Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Supercars Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford Falcon (FG X), Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a ...

. A two-car Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) was purchased from

John Faulkner Racing John Faulkner Racing (JFR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in AUSCAR, NASCAR and V8 Supercars racing in the 1990s and early 2000s History John Faulkner Racing was formed by former Toyota Team Australia driver John Faulkner i ...

. The team's existing one-car REC was retained and periodically leased to other drivers until sold to

Perkins Engineering Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship was wound back i ...

in 2005. The relationship with Brock was dissolved at the end of 2003, with the team resuming its Paul Weel Racing identity for

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

with Bright finishing third in the series.

Partnership with Supercheap Auto

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Greg Murphy replaced Bright and the team signed a three-year sponsorship deal with

Supercheap Auto Supercheap Auto is an Australian automotive parts and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1972, operating as a mail-order business and opened its first store in Brisbane in 1974. It now has 341 stores across Australia and New Zealand. ...

. While continuing with its ex Holden Racing Team chassis, it switched to

engines. It also relocated to the former

Gibson Motorsport Gibson Motorsport was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1985 until 2003, though the team had its roots in Gibson's "Road & Track" team which ran a series of Ford Falcon GTHOs in Serie ...

premises in Dandenong. At the end of the season, Paul Weel retired with

Cameron McConville Cameron Eric "Conkers" McConville (born 22 January 1974) is an Australian racing driver and motorsport celebrity. While retired from full-time competition, McConville still races occasionally and is an in-demand endurance event co-driver. McConv ...

joining the team in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Paul Dumbrell Paul Lakeland Dumbrell (born 1 September 1982) is an Australian business executive and retired racing driver. Racing history Junior career Son of former racing driver Garry Dumbrell, Paul Dumbrell started racing in karts in 1996 and by the en ...

replaced Murphy with the team upgrading to self built Commodore VEs. After a deal to sell the team mid-season to John Marshall collapsed, Kees Weel announced his intention to close the team at the end of the year. One REC was sold to Ford Rising Stars Racing, but having been unable to find a buyer for its remaining REC and with the threat of a fine of $150,000 for every round missed, Paul Weel Racing contested the 2008 series with a single Commodore VE for Andrew Thompson. At the end of the year the team closed with the REC sold to Walkinshaw Racing.PWR sells V8 licence to Walkinshaw
V8 Supercars 14 November 2008

References

{{Reflist

External links

PWR RacingGallery of Paul Weel Racing liveries
Australian auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 1998 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2008 Sports clubs and teams in Victoria (state) Supercars Championship teams 1998 establishments in Australia 2008 disestablishments in Australia