Morris, Ellery team for enduros.

Paul Morris and Steve Ellery are to renew their successful endurance race partnership for the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship events at Sandown and Bathurst.

The pair, who finished eighth at Sandown and sixth at Bathurst last season in a Sirromet Wines VZ Commodore, will partner this season in a VE Commodore for the annual long distance races, and Morris said he was delighted to team up once again with his fellow Queensland ace.

"Steve did an awesome job for our team at Sandown and Bathurst last year," he said. "He's got a proven track record in both races so I couldn't be happier having him as my team-mate again."

Morris announced Ellery as his endurance team-mate for 2007 before both test drove the VE Commodore at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich, with the test doubling as an evaluation of repairs to Morris' car, which sustained $100,000 damage in a crash in New Zealand on April 22.

Morris' car was damaged at Pukekohe when it flipped upside down at 190km/h in round three of the championship. Repairs to the Commodore at PMM's premises at the Holden Performance Driving Centre included replacing both rear chassis rails, rear and inner-side panels, the right-front 'shotgun' panel, and wheel tubs. New doors were fitted, along with the roof, boot, rear wing, front spoiler, fuel tank, and differential. The bonnet and front-guard panels were repaired.

After the test Morris confirmed he would race the repaired VE Commodore in round four of the championship at Winton in Victoria next weekend.

"The car is fine - it's no different to before the crash," he said. "My team have done a great job fixing everything up in the last couple of weeks."

Morris drove a total of 74 laps in the VE Commodore at the test and clocked a best lap time of 1min 11.7secs, while Ellery tested for 26 laps in the same car and recorded a quickest lap of 1min 12.1secs.

"Paul and I had good endurance results in the VZ Commodore last year, but there are some big improvements with his new VE," he said. "It corners better, accelerates more aggressively, and there seems to be so much more mid-range engine power. My first impressions are very positive and I can't wait to race this car at Sandown and Bathurst.

"Today's test was my first time in a V8 Supercar since Bathurst last October so I was a little rusty at first, but after a few laps I started to get more comfortable."