Gregory David Murphy (born 23 August 1972) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...

. Greg Murphy joined

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

and

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...

presenting Top Gear Live, when it had its first international Live show at ASB Showgrounds in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

from 12 to 15 February 2009, and again when the show returned in 2010.

History

Murphy became involved in

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

s by the age of eight, progressing through

karts Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size moto ...

to saloon cars and

single-seaters An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

before moving to Australia. He first competed at the Bathurst circuit in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. The following two years he drove for

Brad Jones Racing Brad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team owned by Brad Jones based in Albury. The team competes in the Supercars Championship and the Super2 Series. Recently they have also returned to Australian Formula Ford where Brad and Kim be ...

in the

Australian Super Touring Championship The Australian Super Touring Championship (formerly known as the Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship) was a Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, CAMS-sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars. History Super Touri ...

and the

Holden Racing Team Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team, initially branded as the Holden Racing Team, used to field Holden Commodores in the Supercars Championship before making the swit ...

(HRT) in endurance events, winning the Bathurst 1000 with

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing car driver in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship racing for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Superca ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. He drove for the HRT full-time in the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship and placed fourth. Due to Craig Lowndes' return from overseas, Murphy only drove for the team in the endurance races in 1998. In 1999 and 2000, he finished 6th in points driving for

Gibson Motorsport Gibson Motorsport was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1985 until 2003, though the team had its roots in Gibson's "Road & Track" team which ran a series of Ford Falcon GTHOs in Serie ...

. He paired with

Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards (race driver), Jim Ri ...

to win the

. In the 2001

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...

season, Murphy joined the newly formed K-Mart Racing team and had two Bathurst 1000 wins with teammate Rick Kelly, in 2003 and 2004. Murphy had two championship runners-up while at K-Mart 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 Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...

, near

(2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005). At the Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst, Murphy has the third best record for a

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

with four wins, compared to Jim Richards' seven, and his son

' five. Murphy's 2003 pole position of 2:06.8594 at Bathurst stood as the fastest lap ever recorded at

Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama Circuit, officially Mount Panorama/Wahluu via dual naming, is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race ...

until eclipsed seven years later. It is known colloquially as "The Lap of the Gods" and widely regarded as one of the finest moments in Bathurst folklore. In November of

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Murphy won the Bathurst 24 Hour race in the

Garry Rogers Motorsport Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the t ...

built, 7.0 litre V8

Holden Monaro 427C The Holden Monaro 427C was an Australian built and designed GT style race car based on the Holden Monaro CV8 road car. The car ran in the Procar Australia-run Australian Nations Cup Championship and at the short-lived Bathurst 24 Hour race a ...

alongside

Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...

Jason Bright Jason Paul Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Supercars Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford Falcon (FG X), Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a ...

and

Todd Kelly Todd Evan Kelly (born 9 October 1979) is a retired Australian professional racing driver who competed in the Supercars Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He is the older brother of fellow Supercars driver and former Bathurst ...

.Mount Panorama – Bathurst 23/11/2003 Bathurst 24hr 2003
National Software. Retrieved 4 April 2008 Murphy qualified the #05 Monaro in second place behind the 2002 race winning Monaro of teammate

Garth Tander Garth Dirk Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving for Grove Racing. He was the 2007 series champion for th ...

. The two Monaro's led the race throughout with Murphy in the car finishing only 0.3505 in front of Tander after 527 laps of racing. During 2005 and 2006 Murph competed for

Paul Weel Racing Paul Weel Racing was an Australian motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship Series between 1998 and 2008. Ford Years After some brief appearances in 1997 in minor events, Paul Weel Racing debuted in the 1998 Australi ...

(PWR) where he initially had good results until changing to the Perkins engines. Since then Murphy has never really had any outstanding performances. Murphy joined Tasman Motorsport in 2007 where his lack of results continued. Murphy joined

Paul Morris Motorsport Paul Morris Motorsport, also known as its business name of Nemo Racing, is an Australian motor racing team that competed in V8 Supercars between 2000 and 2012. The team also won the 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000 and four Australian Super Touring Cham ...

in 2010 to drive

Castrol Castrol Limited is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The company was originally named CC Wakefield; the nam ...

supported Commodore. While the partnership looked like it was to reignite the "old murph" his performances and a poor car failed to produce results thus the announcement came in November 2010 that the partnership would split. Murphy joined

Kelly Racing Kelly Racing (formerly known as Kelly Grove Racing and Nissan Motorsport) is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Dunlop Super2 Series. It formerly competed in the Supercars Championship from 2009 to 2021. The team made its de ...

for 2011 in a late deal with major sponsor Pepsi Max. Throughout the year the Pepsi Max Crew car has undergone four different paint schemes all with a graffiti theme. Murphy has had varying success throughout the year and as he has become more comfortable with his car and the team he has had some good performances, including pole position at the

. 2013 saw Murphy return to

on a part-time basis, co-driving with Car #22 driver

James Courtney James Anthony Courtney (born 29 June 1980) is an Australian racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 7 Ford Mustang (sixth generation), Ford Mustang GT for Blanchard Racin ...

in the endurance events. However, Bathurst saw Murphy involved in a heavy crash at Reid Park, therefore ending his chances of finishing the race. The bad luck didn't end there, with yet another serious incident bringing Car #22 down (this time involving

Paul Dumbrell Paul Lakeland Dumbrell (born 1 September 1982) is an Australian business executive and retired racing driver. Racing history Junior career Son of former racing driver Garry Dumbrell, Paul Dumbrell started racing in karts in 1996 and by the en ...

from

Triple Eight Race Engineering Triple Eight Race Engineering, branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing in Supercars, is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane-based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originall ...

) in Race 1 at Gold Coast. In 2021 Peter Adderton from Boost Mobile floated the idea of running a Wildcard entry for Murphy and fellow retired Kiwi racer

Richie Stanaway Richard Stanaway (born 24 November 1991) is a racing car driver from New Zealand. He currently competes full-time in the Supercars Championship, driving the No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation), Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for PremiAir Racing. ...

in the upcoming

. The idea gained massive fan support, helping to convince Murphy and Stanaway to return for the first time since 2014 & 2019 respectively. On 8 June 2021 it was confirmed that the two would return in an

Erebus Motorsport Erebus Motorsport (formerly known as Erebus Racing) is an Australian motor racing team. The team competes in the Supercars Championship with two Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s. The team's current drivers are Jack ...

run Boost Mobile supported entry. On 12 November 2021 the wildcard was postponed due to travel restrictions between Australia & New Zealand. In late April 2022

confirmed that the Wildcard would be revived for the upcoming

. There were plans to run Murphy & Stanaway in solo events prior to Bathurst but those plans fell through, the two will get three test days prior to the 1000 with the first set to be run at

Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia. History The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 i ...

on 7 June.

Notable career events

*1994 – Won the

New Zealand Grand Prix The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand. First held in 1950 New Zealand Grand Prix, 1950, it is best known for hosting rounds of the Tasman Seri ...

at Manfeild driving a

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a list of literary cycles, literary cycle of medieval allegorical Folklore of the Low Countries, Dutch, English folklore, English, French folklore, French and German folklore, German fables. The first extant versions of the cy ...

90D *1996 – Second in the GT2 Class at Le Mans *1996 – Won

and

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (commercially titled Penrite, Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance racing (motorsport), endurance Auto racing, motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The even ...

with

and the

*1999 – Won the

with

*2000 – Third at Bathurst with

*2001 – Helped to create Kmart Racing after Gibson Motorsport turned to Ford and Craig Lowndes. Finished third at Bathurst with

*2002 – Was given the biggest penalty (five minutes) in V8 racing history because of a pitlane infringement by his team. His car was released early, rupturing a refuelling hose and spilling fuel in the pit box *2003 – Set the fastest lap ever on the 6.213 km (later eclipsed in 2010 by Craig Lowndes and then again in 2017 by Scott McLaughlin)

during the Top 10 Shootout, with a time of 2:06.8594 dubbed 'The Lap of Gods'. Won Bathurst 1000 with

Rick Kelly Rick Kelly (born 17 January 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver who previously competed in the Supercars Championship. He last drove the No. 15 Ford Mustang (sixth generation), Ford Mustang GT for Kelly Racing. Previously, he dro ...

. Won Bathurst 24 Hour with

and

*2004 – Won Bathurst 1000 again with Rick Kelly *2008 – Finished second at Bathurst 1000 *2011 – Got pole position for the second time at Bathurst and finished 3rd in the 2011 Bathurst 1000 *2012 – Won the first ever V8SuperTourer race at Hampton Downs, then eventually finished Runner-up for the Season. *2013 – Greg Murphy Won the V8SuperTourer Sprint Series and Overall Championship, his first Championship Win in 17 years. *2014 – Murphy Won the V8SuperTourer Sprint Series and Overall Championship for the second year in a row. Greg also finished second in the

with

. *2016 – Murphy returned to circuit racing for the first time since the

Gold Coast 600 The Gold Coast 500 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Boost Mobile (Australia), Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars Championship, Supercars, held at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Surfers Parad ...

in 2014. He joined Tony Quinn in an Aston Martin for the Highlands 101 race where they finished second place. Holden VE Commdore of Greg Murphy

Greg murphy 2006 australian grand prix melbourne

Personal life

Greg was born and raised in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where he attended Havelock North High School. After being based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

for most of his racing career he now lives in

with frequent trips to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Career results

Career highlights

Complete V8 Supercar results

Bathurst 1000 results

Super Touring Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a auto racing, motor racing touring car category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Form ...

race

Complete American Le Mans Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Bathurst 24 Hour results

V8SuperTourer

In 2011 it was released that in New Zealand they were making a new touring car series, Murphy was instantly interested and after talks with Paul Manuell they decided to make M3 Racing which Richard Moore, Paul Manuell and Greg Murphy would drive their three cars. As soon as Murphy confirmed he would be racing in the 2012 season, New Zealand Businessman Mike Pero signed up to be his major sponsor for the season. In the 2012 season Murphy had a successful year claiming a pole, 5 race wins and 2 round wins and also the Endurance Championship but because he had to miss two rounds because of back problems he missed out on the overall championship but managed to finish 2nd overall. The 2013 season Murphy redeemed himself after missing out on the title due to back problems, Murphy managed to win 6 races and finished on the podium 14 times out of 21 races, and after a thrilling final race battle with

Ant Pedersen Anthony Arne Pedersen (born 5 May 1988) is a racing driver from New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and ...

, Murphy won his first SuperTourer title.

Complete V8 SuperTourer results

TCR New Zealand

References

External links

*
Profile at V8 SupercarsVideo of Greg Murphy's "Lap of the Gods" at BathurstGreg Murphy at Pepsi Max Crew, Kelly Racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Greg New Zealand racing drivers Supercars Championship drivers 1972 births Living people Sportspeople from Hastings, New Zealand Bathurst 1000 winners 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Australian Touring Car Championship drivers Formula Holden drivers V8SuperTourer drivers Toyota Racing Series drivers 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen American Le Mans Series drivers Australian Endurance Championship drivers Kelly Racing drivers Audi Sport drivers Garry Rogers Motorsport drivers People educated at Havelock North High School