Greg Murphy - Once A Warrior
V8X Supercar Magazine|October - November 2017

Twenty years ago, Greg Murphy got his full-time break in the Australian Touring Car Championship following Craig Lowndes’ departure to Europe. It was the start of a glittering, sometimes controversial but always interesting career that intensified the generational change and the connection between talented Kiwis and our sport.

Cameron McGavin
Greg Murphy - Once A Warrior

The 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship is the year of the Kiwi. Australia’s Supercars contingent, more often than not used to maintaining a constant winning presence in its own racing series, has been enduring the kind of trans-Tasman whipping more often seen on the rugby field.

It wasn’t always this way. Sure, talented Kiwis have long prospered in Australian touring cars, but typically just one has stamped their boot on the statistics at a time, such as Jim Richards or Greg Murphy. With a posse of New Zealand talent currently tearing the Supercars field apart, and Murphy’s own championship endeavours kicking off 20 years ago this year, what better time to revisit the career of one of the all-time Kiwi greats.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Twenty-eight race wins. Four Bathurst 1000s. Two Sandown 500s. Nine race wins at his Pukekohe home track. Author of probably the most celebrated lap of Bathurst ever.

Such statistics make Murphy’s arrival onto the Australian touring-car scene seem inevitable. But for the young Murph of the early 1990s, making a living out of his passion didn’t seem possible.

“Being a racing-car driver wasn’t part of the equation,” says Murphy. “It was so far off, so foreign and unobtainable. So I was trying to get myself into the NZ Air Force and go and fly Skyhawks, then I contemplated going into engineering.”

Winning NZ’s Formula Ford Scholarship, however, set him on the path to his destiny.

That led to a year working alongside movers and shakers in NZ’s Formula Ford scene in 1993. Then followed what he says was the big gamble of his career, crossing the ditch to take a punt at the first round of the 1994 Australian Driver’s Championship at Eastern Creek.

Denne historien er fra October - November 2017-utgaven av V8X Supercar Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra October - November 2017-utgaven av V8X Supercar Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA V8X SUPERCAR MAGAZINESe alt
The F1 Legends At The Mountain
V8X Supercar Magazine

The F1 Legends At The Mountain

The recently departed Sir Stirling Moss is recognised as the best Formula 1 driver never to win the drivers’ world championship, but his illustrious career extended to many other categories, including an often forgotten appearance in the Bathurst 1000 alongside another legend of the sport.

time-read
3 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
Right On Track: Sprinting Back Into Action
V8X Supercar Magazine

Right On Track: Sprinting Back Into Action

The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship returns with shorter sprint races on the reworked calendar in 2020.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
Beyond The Wheel: Racing Virtually
V8X Supercar Magazine

Beyond The Wheel: Racing Virtually

Racing online in the BP Supercars All Stars Eseries was a new experience for me. While there were some carryover traits from racing in real life, there were also some significant differences.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
Top 10 Seasons
V8X Supercar Magazine

Top 10 Seasons

Top 10 Seasons

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
The Inside Story: The New Normal
V8X Supercar Magazine

The Inside Story: The New Normal

As we prepare for the return of racing, the whole Supercars pitlane is wondering how things will look. And work.

time-read
3 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
Top 10 (Multi-Car) Crashes
V8X Supercar Magazine

Top 10 (Multi-Car) Crashes

10 mount panorama circuit 2014

time-read
3 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
TOP 10 MAKES
V8X Supercar Magazine

TOP 10 MAKES

TOP 10 MAKES

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
VIRTUAL MOVES
V8X Supercar Magazine

VIRTUAL MOVES

The BP Supercars All Stars Eseries provided some racing during the suspension of the season, paving the way for more regular virtual contests.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
V8X Supercar Magazine

VIRTUAL REALITY

The BP Supercars All Stars Eseries has paved the way for Supercars to further embrace virtual racing, opening up an important avenue to attract and engage with new audiences for the category

time-read
5 mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117
1960 – 2020 TOP 60 DRIVERS
V8X Supercar Magazine

1960 – 2020 TOP 60 DRIVERS

Who are the greatest drivers in the 60-year history of the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars? We rank the top 60 with an emphasis on best championship finishes, race-winning percentage and competitive longevity. Only drivers with top 10 championship finishes were considered, to emphasise championship performances over part-time or endurance campaigns. Also, results from the Bathurst 1000 and other endurance events were only factored in when they were part of the championship.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2020 Issue 117