The 23-year-old Erebus Motorsport driver sits 23rd in the championship heading into the Townsville 500 with a single top 10 finish to his name.
Flashes of speed – including a pair of top-five qualifying runs at Albert Park – have been dampened by incidents that have drawn the ire of officials and rivals
Murray entered the year riding a wave of excitement following his form aboard Triple Eight’s Supercheap Auto-backed wildcard in 2024.
Erebus opted to sign the Super2 driver in the wake of a shock Shootout appearance during his maiden single-driver Supercars round in Darwin.
He then teamed with Craig Lowndes for fifth at the Sandown 500 and was on for a similar result at Bathurst before a Safety Car rule breach drew a penalty.
A late call-up to replace his now teammate Jack Le Brocq at the Adelaide season finale then gave a more realistic preview of what was in store.
“It’s been difficult to say the least,” Murray said of his 2025 season on Supercars’ Drivers Only podcast.
“Doing the wildcards last year probably didn’t prepare me enough for it.
“We were [running] in the 10 at Bathurst but it sort of gave me an unreal perspective. I thought ‘how easy is this?’.
“Everything has just got to be put together, all those little ones.”
Asked of the rough-and-tumble nature of the racing, especially in the mid-pack, Murray added: “It’s hard, but I like it.
“[I’ve been knocked around] heaps, but I’ve also given a few knocks as well. A little bit of tit-for-tat.”
Erebus boss Barry Ryan tracked Murray’s career through karting, Porsches and Super2 before snapping him up to replace departing champion Brodie Kostecki.
Murray’s arrival at Erebus coincided with the departure of two key engineers, requiring a rebuild at the 2024 Bathurst winning team.
Speaking about Murray’s season in Darwin last month, Ryan said: “He definitely doesn’t mind putting it on the line, especially in qualifying.
“To get the result you need to be [starting] up the front. Sometimes he oversteps the mark, [but] it’s easier to slow a fast driver down than it is to make a slow driver fast, as they say.
“He’s got to probably bring it back to 99.9 percent pushing, not 101.
“Once he does that, his control of the race, he’s got really good race pace all the time and really looks after the tyres well.”
Ryan remains fully convinced of Murray’s ability to develop into a Supercars race winner.
“One he can get that top five qualifying position, or third like he was at the Grand Prix before it got rained out, that’s where we’re going to see the real Cooper,” he added.
“Being in the mid-pack this year is so difficult, especially when you’re a rookie because he’s just a target.
“People are learning how he races, he’s learning how others race and trying to get respect. You’ve got to get respect but not put yourself in bad positions.
“But he’ll learn quick and we’re confident he’s going to win races, hopefully by the end of the year, if not he’ll be ready next year to win.”
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