Greg Murphy is still living life in the fast lane, despite ending his 15-year reign as a fulltime driver in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship.
One of the most decorated and popular drivers in the series since 1997, Murphy was left without a fulltime drive, following a frustrating 2012 season with Kelly Racing.
But as he prepares to unite with V8 Supercars Championship contender James Courtney and the Holden Racing Team in next weekend’s Bathurst 1000, he says he has had little time to relax since ending his 15-year reign in the top flight.
“The workload has certainly not decreased . . . financially-wise it has not been quite as rewarding, but in terms of being busy it seems that I have had less spare time this year, than I have previously,” Murphy told Sunday News from his base in Melbourne.
“It has been crazy. It certainly hasn’t felt like I have been sitting around.”
Murphy has attended all but two of the 11 rounds of the 2013 championship to date, including providing expert analysis for V8 TV.
He has kept his race skills sharpened in the 2013 New Zealand V8 Super Tourers, taking on the likes of V8 Supercars drivers Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, Lee Holdsworth and Alex Davison.
Away from the track the 41-year-old – affectionately known as “Murph” by his legion of fans – has been involved in a variety of road safety programmes in New Zealand.
They’re initiatives which Murphy says he loves being a part of.
But next week will see him back to one of his favourite places, Bathurst, the track on the outskirts of the rural New South Wales city which takes drivers on an uncompromising ride up to the top of Mt Panorama, and back again.
Despite not being able to secure a fulltime drive this year, his formidable record at Bathurst – four wins, one second place and three third-place finishes – has seen Courtney snare him as his co-driver, for the three endurance events on the 2013 Supercar programme.
Last month they finished fifth in the Sandown 500. Two weeks after racing at Bathurst, the duo will unite for the Gold Coast 600.
“I am really enjoying working with James. It is a very easy relationship there between the two of us,” he said.
“No question, we are one of the stronger contenders for winning the race.” It is a completely different sounding Murphy than this time last year. On the eve of the 2012 “Great Race” it had dawned on him he was unlikely to have a fulltime drive for 2013.
That was not a reflection on him as a driver, instead it was a by-product of the fact he was charged with driving an underpowered and poor performing Kelly Racing car.
With Kelly Racing set to switch from Holden to Nissan for 2013, they were reluctant to do the work required to transform Murphy’s car into something that could compete with the championship contenders.
“I was heading into this race last year with reality in my mind, and knowing that we weren’t even in the hunt,” he said.
“I had my worst-ever qualifying last year. It was just a realisation of where I was at . . . knowing that the Kelly guys . . . the emphasis wasn’t on last year.
“It was just disappointing and I was frustrated I was in that position, and had no power to change it.” Compared to last year, Murphy said he was feeling more relaxed about taking on Bathurst.
His time behind the wheel of a Mike Pero-sponsored Super Tourer had kept him race-sharpened, and he was looking forward to teaming up with Courtney, and the well-resourced Holden Racing Team.
Murphy has a Bathurst record envied by the majority of his competitors during his legendary racing career.
Along with his eight podium finishes, he has also started on pole two times, including 2003, when he blitzed the all-time track record in a qualifying effort which is still described as “the lap of the Gods”.
But next weekend Murphy won’t be tasked with qualifying the HRT.
Instead Courtney – who is fifth on the V8 Supercar Championship’s points table – will be the lead driver in the pairing.
“One person has to take the lead and that is obviously him, the other guy is there to be the supporting act,” Murphy said.
“That is why they [HRT] employed me, because they thought that was going to be the best combination they could have. I am very comfortable in that position, because I know I am in a great place to win races.
“But I am also realistic that we have to try and win James a championship. He is right in with a shot. We need to be up the front as much as we can, and that will give me something to crow about, and also give him the opportunity to try and be a two-time champion.”
After the Bathurst 1000, Murphy will return to New Zealand for the next round of the NZ Super Tourers, to be hosted at Hampton Downs, on October 19-20. And despite his star co-billing with Courtney for the three enduro rounds of the 2013 V8 Supercar Championship, Murphy said he was unlikely to make a fulltime return to the series across the Tasman next year. “It does sort of seem that with everything that is going on I have fallen into a different place. I am quite comfortable with it,” he said.
