Greg Murphy

V8 Supercar Driver


Caption = Murphy at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.
Name = Greg Murphy
Nationality = flagicon|NZL New Zealander
Car number = 51
Team = Tasman Motorsport
Championships = 0
Races = 137
Wins = 11
Podiums = 34
Poles = 12
2007 Championship position = 13th (250 pts)

Greg Murphy (born 23 August, 1972 in Hastings, New Zealand) is a New Zealand racing driver. Murphy became involved in motor sports by the age of eight, progressing through karts to saloons and single-seaters before moving to Australia.

History

Murphy first competed at the Bathurst circuit in 1994. The following two years he drove for Brad Jones Racing in the Australian Super Touring Championship and the Holden Racing Team (HRT) in endurance events, winning the Bathurst 1000 with Craig Lowndes in 1996. He drove for the HRT full time in 1997 and almost won the championship. Due to Craig Lowndes' return from overseas, Murphy only drove for the team in the endurance races in 1998.

In 1999, he joined Wynns Racing and paired with Steven Richards to win the Bathurst 1000. In the 2001 V8 Supercar season, Murphy joined the newly-formed Kmart Racing team and had two Bathurst 1000 wins with teammate Rick Kelly, in 2003 and 2004. Murphy had two championship runner-ups while at Kmart Racing, in 2002 and 2003. In 2001 and 2004 he finished fourth in the championship.

He is one of the best known V8 Supercar drivers (car No 51 since 2001) and has won four rounds at his home circuit at Pukekohe, near Auckland (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005). At the Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst, Murphy has the second best record for a Kiwi with four wins, compared to Jim Richards' seven. Murphy was involved in a collision with Marcos Ambrose in the 2005 event, ending his chance of recording three successive Bathurst wins. Murphy ended his two year relationship with Supercheap Auto Racing in 2006 and is now teamed up with Jason Richards in the Tasman Motorsport Team.

2007 Season

After leaving the struggling Super Cheap Auto/PWR Racing outfit he took his famous #51 and his race engineer to Tasman Motorsport and races alongside fellow Kiwi Jason Richards.

Notable career events

*1994 - 2nd place in the Australian Formula Brabham Championship
*1995 - New Zealand Formula Holden series
*1996 - Won Bathurst 1000 and Sandown 500 with Craig Lowndes and the Holden Racing Team
*1997 - First full season in the Australian Touring Car Championship (now known as V8 Supercar Championship) with the Holden Racing Team - 4th overall in championship
*1998 - Sat out most of the V8 Championship while testing for the Tasman Indy Lights team
*1999 - Moved to Gibson Motorsport. Won the Bathurst 1000 with Steven Richards, 6th overall in championship
*2000 - Finished 3rd at Bathurst with Steven Richards, 6th overall in championship
*2001 - Helped to create Kmart Racing (now Toll HSV Dealer Team) after Gibson Motorsport turn to Ford and Craig Lowndes. Finished 3rd at Bathurst with Todd Kelly
*2002 - Was given the biggest penalty (5 minutes) in V8 racing history because of a pitlane infringement by his team (The car launcher releasing Murphy and Kelly's car too early and broke a refueling hose, spilling fuel all over the pit box.)
*2002-03 - Finished second overall in V8 Supercars series.
*2003 - Set the quickest lap ever (under qualifying conditions) on the 6.213 km Mount Panorama Circuit, with a time of 2:06.8594. Won Bathurst 1000 with Rick Kelly. Won Bathurst 24 Hour With Peter Brock, Todd Kelly and Jason Bright
*2004 - Won Bathurst 1000 again with Rick Kelly
*2005 - Looked like potentially coming to blows with Marcos Ambrose on-track at Bathurst after a large crash, though only a verbal argument ensued. Both failed to finish
*2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005 - Wins his home race at Pukekohe

Teams

Murphy has been in several teams while competing in the V8 Supercar series. He has used the number 51 since the 2001 season opening round.

*1995 - Holden Racing Team (endurance races only)
*1996 - Holden Racing Team (endurance races only)
*1997 - Holden Racing Team
*1998 - Holden Racing Team (endurance races only)
*1999 - Gibson Motor Sport
*2000 - Gibson Motor Sport
*2001 - Kmart Racing
*2002 - Kmart Racing
*2003 - Kmart Racing
*2004 - Kmart Racing
*2005 - Supercheap Auto Racing
*2006 - Supercheap Auto Racing
*2007 - Tasman Motorsport
*2008 - Sprint Gas Racing

Career results

External links

* [http://www.tasmanmotorsport.com/default.aspx?s=driverindex Profile at Tasman Motorsport]
* [http://www.murph.co.nz/ Murphy's official site]
* [https://www.v8supercar.com.au/drivers/driverdetails.asp?did=194&ind=M/ Profile at V8 Supercars]
* [http://www.v8supercar.com.au/news/latestnews/newsdisplay.asp?Ind=M&author=&gid=23489741 Murphy to Tasman Motorsport]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=7MaNiV7Kwe4 Video of Greg Murphy's "Lap of the Gods" at Bathurst]