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The Blue Oval has been announced as the celebrated marque for the 2025 Taupo Historic Grand Prix, in conjunction with confirmation of a date of January 11-12.
That makes for something of an irony considering Greg Murphy is on the Taupo Historic GP’s organising committee.
The Hastings native is a Holden hero, having won the Bathurst 1000 four times in Commodores, including for the official factory team in 1996.
However, his most famous contribution to the Great Race arguably came outside the race itself, when he qualified the Kmart VY Commodore on pole position in a time of 2:06.8594s in 2003, a feat which became known as the Lap of the Gods.
Farley, who met Murphy when he drove a Group A Ford Sierra at Highlands Motorsport Park during a visit to New Zealand in late-2023, just wishes the Kiwi was driving a Falcon that Saturday in the Top 10 Shootout.
“We are so proud that the Ford Ranger has been New Zealand’s best-selling vehicle for the last nine years,” he said.
“2024 will again be a special year for Ford in New Zealand, first with the announcement Ford will be the celebrated marque at the 2025 Historic Grand Prix at Taupo Motorsport Park and then with our new Mustangs returning to race in Supercars.
“I have met so many Kiwis who love Ford, and we feel the exact same way about New Zealand. Our nearly 100-year history in the country speaks for itself.
“The only thing we could have done better was to have Greg Murphy drive for Ford, and then the Lap of the Gods would have been in a Falcon.”
Farley is not just a suit, but also a racer himself, and an enthusiastic proponent of the V8 engine which powers so many of Ford’s motorsport programmes, including Supercars.
Murphy, on the other hand, made every single one of his V8 Supercars Championship starts in Holden Commodores and, perhaps naturally, was a villain to the Ford faithful, a position strengthened by some famous run-ins with Marcos Ambrose.
In recent years, though, he has raced in Sierras in historic competitions, including Pukekohe’s Supercars farewell in 2022.
The 51-year-old cut his teeth in Formula Atlantic, a category which has seen other famous names such as Jos Verstappen, Keke Rosberg, and Jacques Laffite racing in New Zealand.
Formula Atlantics will also be a major part of the 2025 event, racing for the Historic GP trophy and/or being deployed for off-track displays, with several cars to be sent from overseas.
“Formula Atlantics are hugely exciting to me because I raced them here in New Zealand in the ‘90s as a part of my stepping stone into racing,” said Murphy.
“I’m a massive fan of the cars; they played a huge part in my career.
“In the 1980s and ‘90s, the Formula Atlantics were a pathway to a single-seater career.
“The list of drivers that have come through Formula Atlantics and gone on to bigger and better things is enormous.
“Americans, Europeans, and people from all over the world would come to New Zealand over our summer to get experience, log miles and get competition before going back to the Northern Hemisphere to race.
“We were doing that way back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and it’s what CTFROC [Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship; nee TRS] does so successfully to this day.”
The Ford aspect of the 2025 Taupo Historic GP will include show and shines, demonstration laps, displays and a special Ford all-comers class for racing.
“We’re very excited to celebrate some iconic cars and drivers that have graced New Zealand circuits in years gone by,” said Taupo International Motorsport Park CEO Josie Spillane.
“We’ve got some very exciting things in the works, and planning is well underway for what will be an unforgettable weekend. There’ll be something for everyone.”
Other categories invited to the event include Historic Saloon cars, Historic Muscle cars, Historic Touring Cars, and F5000.
