The four-time Bathurst 1000 winner joined The Hard Card podcast recently to discuss his legacy, his career past and present and his thoughts on the modern iteration of Supercars.
Murphy indicated that a lack of rivalries between drivers is a genuine issue for the series, while also conceding that the modern social media age is the genesis of the problem.
At the same time he has a simple solution – which is for drivers to not pay attention to social media commentary.
“I mean, back in 2005 when Marcos [Ambrose] and I had that stoush at [Bathurst] people made threats to you by writing a letter and arriving by post in the race team’s mailbox, which was PWR at the time,” Murphy said.
“It wasn’t done through social media. It wasn’t done from your phone or email. And it wasn’t instantaneous either, right? And that’s created a different space.
“I just wish that more people, more drivers, really didn’t take any notice of comments on their social media side of things.
“I wish that they just saw it for what it is a lot of the time, which is opinion and it’s just not worthy. People that you don’t know having opinions about you by posting it online, they don’t contribute to your career outcomes, right?
“They don’t influence the people that are important that make decisions, which is your team owner, your sponsors, that kind of stuff. They don’t have influence, so don’t worry about it, just people who are entitled to their opinions.
“Some of them are just not worth looking at or listening to or taking any notice of. So why take any notice of it?
“Don’t let it be a part of your day or your month or the year or your career. Just do what you do and make sure that the people that are important to you, that make the decisions about your future, are the ones you’re listening to.”
Murphy never shied away from rivalries during his own career, with multiple memorable conformations with Ford hero Ambrose including Bathurst 2005 and the Gold Coast in 2004.
For more on Murphy’s thoughts on heroes and villains, and plenty of other topics, check out the latest episode of The Hard Card with Authentic Collectables.
Watch above or via the podcast links below.
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