Sonic Motor Racing Service will field a youthful line-up for its Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge campaign in 2023, including Ronan Murphy, son of four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy.
Murphy will make his Australian racing debut this year, competing with Sonic in the development Porsche category.
The 21-year-old will be joined by 16-year-old rookie Marcus Flack and second-year Porsche driver Harrison Goodman in a strong three car line-up for the champion Sonic team.
“I’m super pumped to join Team Sonic and join the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge for 2023,” said Murphy.
“It’s my first time racing in Australia and I couldn’t be more stoked to be doing it and joining a team like Sonic for the season. A huge thank you to Michael and Maria Ritter for the opportunity and all my supporters who have made this happen.”
All three drivers enjoyed a solid test session at Phillip Island yesterday, and for Murphy, it was the first time that he had driven a race car in Australia.
Murphy has spent his formative racing years in his home land of New Zealand, competing in Formula Ford and Toyota 86 racing. This year will mark his first full season racing away from home.
“This was my first laps at Phillip Island today in a Gen II Porsche. I have a little bit of experience previously in New Zealand with Porsche but not this car and certainly not this track. I absolutely loved it, I have just been working on a few things with the team but we’re getting there slowly so I can’t wait for the season to roll around,” said Murphy.
“My goal for the season is just to get some really good consistent results and see where we end up in the championship, ideally in the top five somewhere. Hopefully we will be fighting at the front come the season’s end.”
Flack also has racing in his blood. His father, Adrian, is a stalwart of Carrera Cup competition in Australia having competed in the Pro-Am class for a number of seasons.
The 16-year-old has made a fast start to his racing career, competing across the world in various junior open wheel categories, including Formula 4 and Formula 3.
Goodman returns for his third-straight season with Team Sonic after contesting 2021 in the team’s famous Formula Ford program, before stepping up to Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge last year.
Goodman has made great gains in the latter part of 2022, running inside the top five in what was heralded as the most competitive Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge on record.
The opening round of the 2023 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge will be held at Phillip Island on March 3-5.
Main image: Supplied
