Greg Murphy will head into qualifying for tomorrow’s opening leg of the ITM400 behind the eight-ball following a troubled day on the streets of Hamilton.
The local hero significantly damaged his Pepsi Max Crew Commodore in the second of four practice sessions today.
Murphy clipped the concrete wall on the inside of the circuit’s eighth and final corner, which sent him careening into the tyre barrier on the exit.
With the repair including a lengthy crossmember change (which requires the removal of the engine), the #51 Holden missed the entire third practice session.
Murphy returned to the circuit in Practice 4, where he completed 11 laps to end the day at the foot of the times.
“It was one of those things. Rookie driver, cold tyres and ran out of talent,” joked the highly experienced Murphy of his accident.
“It set us back a long way today. The weekend is still ahead of us although we have some catching up to do.
“To be honest the hit wasn’t that big but enough to do a fair bit of damage. We got back out for practice which was a good thing.”
Hamilton marks Murphy’s return to the championship after missing the recent Symmons Plains meeting while recovering from back surgery.
The 37-year-old said that his back had caused him “no problems at all” following the shunt.
It was a difficult day all round for the Kiwi contingent, with Murphy’s countryman Shane van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard ending the day 22nd and 27th fastest respectively.
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 4 report and results
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 3 report and results
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 2 report and results
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s Practice 1 report and results
The V8 Supercars return to Hamilton street circuit tomorrow for a 20 minute qualifying session at 1110 local time. A Top 10 Shootout at 1220 and a 200km race at 1505 will complete the Saturday program.
Click below to read Speedcafe.com’s V8 Race Guide.