New Zealand motor racing legend Greg Murphy will be joined by renowned Australian motorsport commentator and racer Neil Crompton to enjoy the honour of racing a McLaren MP4 12C in the supercar’s debut in a Australian GT Championship race.
Muprhy is excited about the McLaren drive in the final round of the 2013 Australian GT Championship, presented by Pirelli, which takes place at Cromwell’s Highlands Motorsport Park over the weekend of 8 to 10 November as part of the new circuit’s inaugural race meeting.
“I’m looking forward to the event as a whole,” says Murphy. “Having driven on this stunning circuit during the opening celebrations in March this year, I hope the first race meeting at Highlands Park goes off with a bang.
“Obviously the McLaren is a beautiful piece of equipment and I watched Bairdo [fellow Kiwi racing star Craig Baird] set the Highlands lap record in it in March. Both Neil and I are excited to drive the McLaren – with all the wonderful links of the McLaren name for New Zealand motor racing fans – in its Australasian GT debut. There certainly aren’t many other cars like it.”
Originally Baird – who has just won his fifth Porsche Carrera Cup Australia crown and his 11th Porsche one-make-series title – was entered to drive with Crompton in the McLaren. Now Baird will pair up with current Australian GT Championship leader Klark Quinn in the VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3R.
Tony Quinn, Klarks’s father who owns the McLaren and Highlands Motorsport Park complex, comments: “Craig’s links to Porsche are obviously strong and it fits well both for them for Craig to race with Klark in these all-important final two championship races at the opening Highlands meeting. Craig wants Klark to do well and we’re all hoping that means the championship title.”
McLaren is sending an engineer, Andy Scott, from the United Kingdom to configure the Highlands’ McLaren to the latest MP4-12C GT3 configuration and provide technical support for the team throughout the weekend. The managing director of McLaren GT, the race car manufacturing arm of McLaren Group, Andrew Kirkaldy, is also attending the Highlands 101 to see the McLaren in action.
Murphy and Crompton are also expected to pilot the McLaren supercar in the Highlands 101 feature race, joining the 42 fastest cars from any field to contest Sunday’s unique race for 101 intensely competitive laps of the 4.1km circuit.
Murphy says the official practise sessions on Friday will be his and Crompton’s first time behind the wheel of the 3.8-litre McLaren twin-turbocharged V8. Qualifying and the first 40-minute race also take place on Friday as Murphy and Crompton join the 20-strong Australian GT field. A second 40-minute race runs on Saturday morning.
The Australian GT Championship, presented by Pirelli, is one of three fields racing at the opening Highlands’ race meeting called the ‘Highlands 101’; the other classes are the brand-new Toyota Finance 86 Championship featuring the one-make TR86 racing version of Toyota’s 86 coupe road car and the one-hour race and three-hour race fields for the Asko South Island Endurance Series which will feature more well-known names such as V8 touring car regulars John McIntyre, Jonny Reid, Daniel Gaunt and rally ace Chris West.
Tickets for the inaugural Highlands 101 are available from TicketDirect or at the gate, with the best value option a pre-purchased three-day pass, only available via TicketDirect, at $189 per adult and $49 per youth aged 11 to 15 years. One-day passes are also available from TicketDirect or at the gate. Children aged 10 and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult.
The Highlands 101 event provides a weekend’s worth of high octane action with the largest array of supercars ever seen in New Zealand, including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Corvette, Audi, Mosler, Porsche, Ginetta, Dodge Viper and the McLaren. Further top-class entertainment includes high speed parade laps by the Benetton B191 Ford Cosworth Formula 1 car, recently purchased for the Highlands Motorsport Park national motorsport museum, motorcycle stunts, rally cars getting it sideways and model aeroplanes overhead.
More information is available on the website, www.highlands.co.nz, where fans can sign up for free e-newsletters and find links to the event timetable, Facebook page and more.
