Greg Murphy is still wrapping his head around the intricacies of a modern Supercar ahead of his Great Race 1000 comeback.
The Kiwi legend will share the Boost Mobile-backed wildcard with Richie Stanaway at this weekend’s Repco Bathurst 1000 (October 6-9).
It will be Murphy’s first Supercar race since 2014, when he was a co-driver for the Holden Racing Team, having retired from full-time driving at the end of 2012.
The Erebus Motorsport crew had its pre-Bathurst test day last week at Winton Motor Raceway, the wildcard’s third and final outing ahead of the Great Race.
Murphy admitted he is still learning about the #51 ZB Commodore he will drive at the Mountain, having been out of the sport for nearly a decade.
“Just [working on] minor stuff that Brodie [Kostecki] had pointed out to me at the last test,” said Murphy following the test day.
“And then just looking at some data to fine-tune a couple of idiosyncrasies, small things just in the driving side.
“I actually found, and realised, and understood a few more things about these cars, which was cool.”
Confident that every box has been ticked in the lead-up to the event, that final test day has left Murphy in a good head space.
“I’m really looking forward to it now,” he enthused.
“This last test day has been awesome, really enjoyed driving the car; feels great, driver changes are good, Richie is fast, it’s been going really smoothly.
“It puts you in a good space mentally heading up there.”
One element that will perhaps take some adapting to again is the level of fan interest in the wildcard.
The man known for the ‘Lap of The Gods’ at Bathurst is preparing for an intense lead-up to the race, though it’s nothing new for a four-time Great Race winner.
“Wednesday is a big day just with getting there and a few of the fan engagements and things like that,” added Murphy.
“That’s going to be weird going back to that space of autograph sessions.
“Then Thursday getting in the car — I actually now really can’t wait, and this is the first time I’ve said that, I can’t wait to actually get in the car and drive out onto the track as an entry in this year’s 1000.”
Practice 1 at Bathurst kicks off at 11:00 AEDT on Thursday.
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