Christchurch racer Cormac Murphy is back for a third season in Toyota 86, joining impressive newcomers Syndicate Motorsport for a season where he hopes to turn his outright speed into a championship challenge.
Cormac (22) is hoping a switch to Syndicate Motorsport will see him unlock his obvious potential. Syndicate were new for last season, running Justin Allen in what turned out to be a title-challenging season.
Murphy learned much in his first season but is now aiming to build on that with his new team.
“For this season, I have focused on improving my mindset and mentality going into the weekends,” he explained ahead of the first round of the 2025-2026 championship at Hampton Downs this coming weekend.
“I feel there was still a good amount of room for improvement in some of my decision-making throughout last season. If I focus on this aspect, I believe the results I’m after will come.
“I learnt a lot in my first season of 86 racing in the TR86, it gave me a lot of confidence coming into last season, but obviously the TR and GR cars are quite different in terms of the way they handle and feel, and I struggled last season with car setup and my overall speed.
So far from how testing has gone with Syndicate, coming into this season, I feel like we will be able to have plenty of speed and be consistent with it.”
The championship is the country’s leading one-make-one model category, and each season invariably produces a season-long battle between the country’s top young stars. That won’t change, and Murphy is well aware that the challenge will remain in the new season.
“The competitiveness and how hard it is to be competitive in this series are what make me keep wanting to come back.
“The margins are so unbelievably tight, and with this series being considered the premier tin-top class in New Zealand, the talent of all the other drivers is also some of the best NZ has to offer.
“From my experience, to be competitive in this series, you have to drive to your and the car’s absolute limit every single lap. However, with everything so close, even being the fastest driver might not be enough; having the right setup in the car for each track will also be crucial.
“I’m usually quite reserved about prospects for the season as it puts unnecessary stress on everyone, but I’m feeling better than ever, and I feel my team and I have ticked all the boxes for what’s needed to challenge for the title.”
Cormac’s campaign has been brought together with the support of FMI Building Innovation, Miles Group and Repco.
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
