Greg Murphy today announced that he is no longer pursuing a full-time drive in the 2013 V8 Supercar Championship and expects to announce an endurance drive in January.
Murphy has been in discussions with several Holden teams about options for 2013 but has made the decision to now focus solely on an enduro drive for next year.
“It’s been a challenging six months with my back operation, the news that Kelly Racing was switching to Nissan and the annual race to secure one of the last remaining seats available in the championship,” Murphy said.
“While the option to consider another manufacturer presented itself, I was always going to remain loyal to Holden who have been incredibly supportive of my career since I first entered the series as an enduro driver with Craig Lowndes back in 1995.
“The facts are that the right full time Holden seat has not appeared for me despite some encouraging discussions along the way.”
“I know I’m still capable of being very competitive as a full time racer but am comfortable to turn my attention to the right endurance seat for Sandown and Bathurst next year.”
Murphy has had 15 seasons full-time in the V8 Supercars Championship since he made his full time debut in 1997 when he raced with the Holden Racing Team, finishing 4th in the championship. He only raced in one round in 1998 when HRT debuted the VT Commodore at Calder and has been an annual drawcard for the Championship since then.
He has won Bathurst four times from 20 starts, was runner-up in the Championship in 2002 and 2003, and dominated the early Championship races in his home country of New Zealand, winning four events at Pukekohe.
“I’m certainly not retiring from the main game. Bathurst and Sandown have been very kind to me over the years and with the right enduro seat in 2013, I have no doubt that I will be able to show pit lane and the fans alike, that I still have what it takes to be competitive as a full time racer,” Murphy said.
Murphy will once again line up in Mike Pero Racing Holden Commodore in next year’s V8 SuperTourers Championship in New Zealand.
