Greg Murphy is impressed by the depth of motorsport talent in New Zealand, following Callum Hedge’s victory in the Tony Quinn Foundation shoot-out.
Hedge beat finalists Liam Sceats and Billy Frazer to win the TQF shootout at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, which was held on Tuesday.
His victory saw him collect $70,000 to go towards a 2023 Toyota Racing Series campaign.
TQF trustee and four-time Bathurst 1000 winner, Greg Murphy, credited Hedge for his performance.
“Callum just showed a little more consistency of his speed and just showed a very slight advantage in speed and all the facets of the shoot-out,” he said.
“We’re talking about very small margins and at this moment it was Callum that outshone the other two.”
Murphy was impressed by the shoot-out finalists, adding that the competition highlights the depth of motorsport talent in New Zealand.
“The quality we have is deep,” the 28-time Supercars race winner said.
“All three guys were very professional and drove very well, making the job to pick a winner very difficult. For the qualifying and then the outright speed, there was only tenths [of-a-second] between them. It was very, very tight.”
The shoot-out victory caps a remarkable year for Hedge, who competed in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia with Earl Bamber Motorsport, collecting two wins and seven podiums, with a round victory at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 last time out.
“It couldn’t come at a better time. The only other good birthday present I had was driving a Porsche for the first time on my birthday, at Pukekohe, the day before I got my road licence,” Hedge, who turns 19-years-old today said.
“It was such a cool day to be involved with all the Tony Quinn Foundation trustees and Tony Quinn himself, he joined in from Australia on Zoom, which was cool.
“I hadn’t spoken to him formally before, so it was great to meet the guy who’s doing so much for motorsport in New Zealand.”
Hedge said he is looking forward to competing in the Toyota Racing Series next year.
“TRS is something that I’ve really wanted to do for a long time,” he added.
“I’ve watched the series over the years. I was never old enough to compete in it and for the two years when I was old enough the series didn’t happen, so it’s been a long time coming and I’m looking forward to giving it my best shot.”
Round 1 of the 2023 Toyota Racing Series will take place at Highlands Motorsport Park from January 13-15.
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