“Nothing’s off the table”: Greg Murphy addresses Bathurst wildcard rumours

Four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy has confirmed that he hasn’t ruled out a wildcard appearance at this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

The popular Kiwi was first linked to the event via a tongue-in-cheek post on social media by Boost Mobile CEO Peter Adderton, announcing that he would like to challenge the wildcard entry of Russell Ingall and Broc Feeney with an all-Kiwi car for Murphy and Richie Stannaway.

Adderton has since confirmed that he is in talks to both drivers about the opportunity, with Murphy becoming the first to break his silence.

Speaking on Repco Supercars Weekly, a new weekly podcast hosted by The V8 Sleuth’s Aaron Noonan, Murphy said that a wildcard appearance had not been ruled out.

“All I can say at the moment is that nothing’s off the table, as crazy as it may sound. But, I don’t know, we’ll just have to wait and see what [Adderton has] come up [with] and what bribery and corruption he throws my way and how serious he is,” he said.

“We’re still working on trying to work that one out.

“I find it completely insane that, after all these years, I could even fathom getting back behind the wheel of a Supercar and going and doing a job there [Bathurst]. But anyway, if Ingall could do it, I suppose I could.

“I will be at Bathurst regardless. Part of the plan is to come and support my mates in the television side of Supercars and have a play with them.”

Murphy last took on The Great Race in 2014, as part of a two-year stint co-driving with the Holden Racing Team.

While some drivers from his era pressed on with much longer follow-up careers as Supercars co-drivers, Murphy only appeared for the two years before ‘switching sides’ to become part of the Supercars broadcasting team.

This didn’t stop him, though, from making cameo appearances during three official Supercars practice sessions at Winton Raceway across 2016 (with Erebus Motorsport), 2017 (with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport), and 2018 (with Tekno Autosports).

While he has done little racing in Australia since his full-time Supercars retirement in 2012, Murphy continues to race sporadically in New Zealand. This includes his drives at the Battle of Jack’s Ridge rallysprint late last year, and the New Zealand Grand Prix in January.