Greg Murphy is the latest high-profile signing in New Zealand’s growing endurance racing calendar, having been confirmed as a starter for the next round of the Carters Tyres South Island Endurance Series.
The four-time Bathurst 1000 will partner with Dwayne Carter in the Carters Tyres Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the remaining rounds of the series, starting with round two this weekend at Mike Pero Motorsport Park in Christchurch.
The newly imported Carter Tyres AMG is a later generation of Carters original AMG SLR. It’s also not the first GT3 car Murphy has raced, following performances in Aston Martin, McLaren, and Chevrolet GT machinery on both sides of the Tasman.
“Considering there’s not a lot of other stuff going on, I am excited to get back behind the wheel of a car,” Murphy told Velocity News.
“GT3 cars are cool, they’re all fun to drive no matter what it is. I haven’t done any of the endurance stuff in New Zealand, and I think the series is really positive and it’s a great thing for all sorts of people to be able to go and get value for money in their cars.
“I’m looking forward to having a play, the International Motorsport boys are already throwing rocks at me so that’ll be entertaining,” he laughed.
The Sky Speed host praised the local endurance series for its open regulations, ‘less serious’ attitude towards racing, and subsequent focus on fun and value.
“I think it fits really well; the time of the year that it runs, it gives people the ability to take pretty much whatever they want along,” he said.
“The lack of regulations and rules, I think it works really well. You turn up, and I think from what I’ve heard people have the right attitude. Most of them that go and race in those series’, they’re there to enjoy themselves and enjoy the camaraderie.
“I think a lot of people aren’t taking themselves too seriously, which is good. They’re just out there to enjoy and get a decent amount of track time. You’ve got a vast mix of performance, all the way from GT3 to guys running pretty cheap touring cars of varying degrees.”
Murphy and Carter’s main challengers for victory include the other two current-generation GT3 cars on the grid; round one winners Alex Riberas and Darren Kelly (Aston Martin Vantage AMR) and close runners up Jonny Reid and Neil Foster (Audi R8 LMS Ultra).
Other GT3 cars on the grid include round one podium-getters Brendon Leitch and Christina Orr-West in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra, and the SaReNi Camaro of John McIntyre and Simon Gilbertson.