Ronan Murphy will make the move across the Pacific Ocean to race in the Formula 4 United States Championship this year.
After several tests with Kiwi Motorsport, Murphy has committed to a full season in the Formula 1 feeder series. It marks his first foray into international competition.
Now 18 years old, Ronan Murphy is the son of Supercars Championship legend Greg Murphy, a four-time Bathurst 1000 winner.
Murphy junior is currently contesting the ITM New Zealand Formula Ford Championship where he has shown promise in a Spectrum 015.
Kiwi Motorsport, the team Murphy will race with in the USA, is led by Garry Orton and Teena Larsen. Under the Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport moniker, the team has found significant success in recent years.
Last season they had three of their drivers finish inside the top five, including eventual champion Joshua Carr of Australia.
With recent success, it bodes well for Murphy who has tested on and off with the team throughout 2019 at the Motorsport Ranch in Texas and Buttonwillow Raceway in California.
“I think it’s the obvious next step for me and I enjoyed the car when I tested it,”
he said.
“I immediately felt at home with the car and it seems to suit my style very well. Obviously Garry and Teena’s team have a great handle on the set-up of this type of car so I was starting from a good base, but I felt confident and able to push.
“It’s an exciting new stage in my career and one which will hopefully be a stepping stone to the higher formula series around the world.”
While father Greg has had great success in touring car categories, Ronan has his eyes firmly on the single seater path for now.
All going to plan, breaking into the IndyCar Series is his goal.
“That’s my thing for sure,” he said of touring car racing. “But dad started out in single seaters too. Open wheeler racing has been the classic route for so many successful Kiwi motor racing drivers and to try and follow in the footsteps of someone like Scott Dixon would be incredible.”
Murphy’s championship trail starts at the Road Atlanta on 9-11 April before moving to the Circuit of the Americas on 5-7 June. On 17-19 July the championship visits Virginia International Raceway for Round 3.
Round 4 takes place just two weeks later at the Barber Motorsports Park over 31 July-2 August. Round 5 is at Sebring International Raceway on 25-27 September and the championship finale will be at the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas from 23-25 October.