Having recorded the fastest lap in the Saturday race, Murray sensationally qualified fifth on Sunday at the Darwin Triple Crown before setting the 10th fastest time in his first Top 10 Shootout.
The race results were a different story, finishing 22nd in Race 11 and 25th in Race 12 after being rear-ended on the opening lap in an incident that resulted in the chassis requiring replacement.
Nevertheless, the 23-year-old had done enough to catch the eye of Ryan.
“I think Cooper’s done enough now,” Ryan said at Norwell Motorplex where it was also announced Brodie Kostecki would leave the team to join DJR.
“I’ve known Cooper and his family for a long time since he and my dad raced karts together.
“I think what ticked the box was qualifying fifth at Darwin in his second ever session, you don’t do that by accident.
“If he can bounce out at Sandown and Bathurst this year and do a similar thing there, then we’ll tick the box and say we’ve made the right decision – which we already have – but that’ll confirm it and then bounce into the first round next year and Cooper will be ready to start winning races.”
Murray will join Jack Le Brocq at the Dandenong South-based outfit in 2025.
Ryan is optimistic Murray will continue a list of drivers who have enjoyed success with the team.
Anton De Pasquale was the first driver Erebus plucked out of Super2 and in just his second season he was a podium finisher.
After he left to join Dick Johnson Racing in 2021, the team enjoyed success with an all-new line-up of Will Brown and Kostecki.
Kostecki was a podium finisher in just his fifth race as a full-timer and Brown scored a win by the season’s end.
Ryan believes Murray has the makings of his predecessors.
“We’ve been lucky, or we’ve made the right decisions, that the three drivers in the past Anton, Will and Brodie have all been race winners, pole position winners, championship winners and before that [David] Reynolds won Bathurst with us,” Ryan explained.
“So we’re pretty confident that we can pick the right drivers.
“To Paul Morris’ credit, he’s been a big, big part of that and helping us on the journey to make sure we know the right attitude as well as just the right talent.
“We’re really confident that Cooper’s the next kid and actually think he could be a year ahead of some of those guys because he’s got this wildcard opportunity, which was rare back then.
“If we can shortcut a year and get him to win the championship in ‘26, try to undercut Brodie, that’d be our maximum goal.”
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