The son of Bathurst 1000 legend Greg Murphy will compete in the New Zealand Endurance Championship, contesting six events across the North Island and South Island.
His campaign will begin at Taupo before back-to-back rounds at Hampton Downs. He’ll then head south for rounds at Ruapuna, Teretonga, and Highlands.
Murphy will race in the three-hour features with Kane Lawson and Hayden Knighton in a James Marshall Motorsport-prepared car.
It marks a return to GT racing for Murphy after a short-lived sojourn to Australia where he raced in Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge with Sonic Motor Racing Services.
Ultimately, Murphy decided not to pursue a full-time motor racing career after that year amid an ever-present need to find financial support that he simply couldn’t muster.
“I’m really good mates with Kane and Hayden and they offered me the opportunity to come and do it and just enjoy it – but also take it seriously and hopefully help them to get some results because that’s the whole idea around it,” Murphy told Speedcafe.
“They’ve always gone really good against the amateur guys in the past but then they get dusty every time Jonny Reid or Andrew Waite gets in another car. It’s just trying to prop up their chances.
“It’s three guys that get on really well and just go and enjoy it. That’s not to say I’m not going to take it seriously. I’ve been doing a lot of homework and we’ve been doing a bit of testing and we’re still going to give it a red hot crack.”
It’s been two years since Murphy last competed in Sprint Challenge. The Kiwi considered making the step up but couldn’t make the financial jump needed to Carrera Cup or Super2.
Behind the scenes, his grandfather Kevin played a significant part in getting to Australia but his father Greg was hands-off.
The Supercars great has been open about his son having to forge his own pathway, and Murphy says he understands why his father took that approach.
“Looking back now, and funnily enough I was actually thinking about this the other day, I’m just really proud of myself,” said Murphy.
“The whole way I had help from my granddad to try and find some support, but it was just always me, especially the last couple of years, by myself working my arse off trying to create opportunities and make things happen.
“That year, going to Australia, it didn’t necessarily go to plan, but that first half of the year was brilliant and I was really proud of myself and the way I performed. All things considered, I was pretty much doing that by myself.”
Murphy said his dad’s tough love approach was difficult to understand growing up. However, as he forged his own pathway he began to understand its benefits.
“When I was younger, I used to not like it so much, but looking back now, I’m grateful for how he brought me up in that way,” Murphy explained.
“It just made me so aware of how things work and that none of this is easy and you’ve got to work really hard if you want things and want to get somewhere.
“It didn’t necessarily work out the way I wanted it to but I also didn’t end up putting an absurd amount of pressure on my family or anyone to try and achieve it.
“I still got to do some incredible things and race some amazing cars, but it just didn’t quite get there.”
Still, it was bitter pill to swallow. At the time, he lived with Ryan Wood in Melbourne who was then racing in the Super2 and quickly made it to Supercars.
“I was living with someone who was doing the exact same with Ryan Wood. He was doing all the same things as me,” said Murphy.
“Probably one thing I looked at with him that I sort of was a little bit envious of was how much his family supported him, like how much they wanted it.
“They wanted it so bad for him to happen. For me, it wasn’t really like that. Dad, he wants you to be successful in anything you do, but it was like he’d rather it be something else rather than motor racing.
“That was always an extra hurdle that I had that most other people and guys that come from other motor racing families they probably have never had.”
Murphy will race with support from Galbraith Earth Movers and Pirtek, who ironically was the sponsor of one of Greg Murphy’s greatest rivals Marcos Ambrose.
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