Cameron McLean to rejoino Shell Team for Bathurst

[RaceTime]

06 September 2001
MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
MCLEAN REJOINS SHELL TEAM
Cameron McLean will drive for Shell Helix Racing in this year’s V8 Supercar 1000 at Bathurst on 7 October

McLean, whose plans to contest the Bathurst classic with Paragon Motorsport have now been abandoned, returns to Dick Johnson’s team to share the number 18 Ford Falcon XR8 with Greg Ritter.

The 1999 V8 Supercar Privateer’s Cup Champion shared a Shell Helix Racing Falcon with Steve Johnson at Bathurst last year, finishing fourth after regularly leading the endurance event throughout the day.

"Cameron did an outstanding job for us at Bathurst last year and we were always keen to have him back, but respected his desire to run his own program if he could," Dick Johnson said.

"Now that the opportunity has presented itself, we are very pleased to have him on board again."

McLean will replace Paul Stokell in Shell Helix Racing’s Bathurst driving line up.

"The V8 Supercar category is so competitive now that it is vital to mount the strongest possible challenge at an event like Bathurst, and that means having the very best drivers available," Dick Johnson says.

"Making a change at this stage is unfortunate timing however that’s the reality of the sport today … we think Cameron and Greg (Ritter) will make an outstanding combination."

[Crash Test]

Great for Cameron!....I guess.

A better chance of him winning the race, but a crying shame the debacle over Paragon happened.

[marcus]

awww what a load of rubbish.

i dont like this one bit ..ok McLean is a great driver and by all accounts a very nice guy but what the heck does Paul Stokell have to do to get a break in V8's...the guy is a very good and underated driver and should be given this chance with a top team.

paragon stuffed up on their own let them sort it out on their own..he is driving at winton so there maybe some hope of Bathurst ..but obviously they are not even going to try now cameron is with DJR.

I hope Stokell lands the SBR drive that Crick has just given up for some strange reason.

to the whole situation.

[philneast]

Marcus I think you have it.

The musical chairs has not finished. Stokell has been building a realtionship with DJR, Steven just did a test with Stokell's team as co driver in the Sandown 500. I don't think they would just dump Paul.

Ford supoort quite a number of teams and drivers, one of them is Cameron Mclean. They would want him in a car at Bathurst. Stokell at Stone Brothers? Who else are they going to get?


With all due respect to Greg Ritter I would rather be in the Pirtek car with the hottest new driver in the series in a car prepared by most successful preparers of V8 Supercar Falcons at Bathurst.

[Crash Test]

"paragon stuffed up on their own let them sort it out on their own..he is driving at winton so there maybe some hope of Bathurst ..but obviously they are not even going to try now cameron is with DJR."
- The thing is that Cameron is a partner in Paragon too...The team isn't saying much, but obviously the money for them to run Bathurst is no longer there.

Paul has been given plenty of chances in the past, and he has never really taken to any of them. Ritter has far less experience in a V8 than Paul, and he was faster than him all weekend at QR. He never really did anything outstanding driving with Ellery last year, and with Gardner etc...but look at Cameron. He has a great Bathurst record- he made it into the lead last year through sheer hard driving, and could have very easily won the race. He came 4th in 98, and 5th in 97, and would have been a clear top 10 runner in his own car in 99 until it broke.

"The V8 Supercar category is so competitive now that it is vital to mount the strongest possible challenge at an event like Bathurst, and that means having the very best drivers available," Dick Johnson says.....

As for Crick, he was shown the door after being rather unimpressive. A big part of the problem however was that the car wasn't set up to his liking, and thus, the problem would only happen again at the mountain.

As for the SBR seat...WW aint doing anything on Sunday at this stage

[Vandas]

I was shocked when I read this article.

Paul is a friend of ours, and a member of our club.

He has tested my race car, and to say that he isn't up the standard of the others is a bit of a joke.

He has three gold star titles, and is a true professional.

There must be some dodgy dealings going on the background. Maybe Stokell couldn't afford the drive at QR, and had to give Jnr Johnson the drive to cover some costs, and his budget may have disappeared for Bathurst. Just a thought,

[Crash Test]

There's that side of it too. I'd imagine if Paragon had the $$, Cam would have been driving his own car at Bathurst..

[philneast]

Vandas

Wait till we see who gets the Pirtek co-driver's spot.

[DAVID PATERSON]

That's something we never hear about. All the media releases go on about how someone was picked for the ability or form or results etc. They never mention how much they brought to the team. Meanwhile, the general public and most fans remain blissfully unaware that there are very, very frew seats in this country which come for free.

[racer69]

If that were true, then how does Ritter have the seat. He hasn't raced for a while i don't think, and Stokall has been racing a factory Lambo all year.

I think its a shame for Stokell, lets hope he gets the drive with Ambrose and kicks the No 18 fords ****.

[Vandas]

Racer,

I haven't had a chance to hear what has happened. However the whisper is that the sponsorship dollars weren't there for Stokell.

I will let you know what I hear over the weekend at the 500.

[philneast]

I wonder if Dick and the Stone Bros were watching Paul lap Winton at 10 seconds a lap(yes TEN seconds!) quicker than the V8's on Sunday?

[RaceTime]

But that is no comparison - Formula Holdens lap at that time differential all the time. And, has been shown before, being able to be fast in one type of car does not necessarily make you fast in a V8.

[Crash Test]

Totally agree, the two classes are apples and oranges. He obviously does a lot of steering during the year, but driving so many cars could easily be a hindrance. Look at Rick Kelly at Mallala after a test day in the V8...it took quite some time for himto come to grips with the FHolden again.

[AdrianG]

I was speaking to Paul at Indy about this subject, and he told me that he missed a gear, DJ wasn't happy and he was out. Simple as that! He also said that it had nothing to do with his speed in comparison to Ritter as their times were pretty much the same.

[marcus]

yeah ..I heard that too..but I find it hard to believe ..but you never know ..if it is the case then Dick is a very hard task master and lets hope none of his drivers ever miss a gear again

[RaceTime]

Depends on exactly what 'miss a gear' meant' though - if, as I would take missing a gear to mean, then possibly it means buzzing an engine, I can understand the reaction.

[Crash Test]

Remember that the engine was as flat as a tack after Ritter got in it, after Stokell missed the gear on one of his last laps.

[marcus]

well all i can say is everyone misses gears at times ..and im sure dick has missed a few in his time...but then again these engines arent cheap to rebuild so the decision was made ..still a shame for Stokell though.