Four Bathurst victories – in 1996, ’99, ’03 and ‘04 – coupled with an often outspoken, but easy-going nature, have made Greg Murphy a firm favourite with both media and race fans.

A sporting ‘God’ in his native New Zealand, Murphy has won the now-defunct Pukekohe round an amazing four out of seven times.

But he’s a fired up driver for 2010, racing under the Castrol EDGE Racing banner for Paul Morris Motorsports in a VE Commodore built by the crack Triple Eight Race Engineering organisation that has won the last two V8 Supercar Championship Series crowns.

After initially coming to Australia to race Formula Holden open-wheelers, Murphy caught the eye of the Audi Sport Australia team run by Brad Jones Racing and spent 1995 and 1996 driving works Audi Quattro A4s for the team, in addition to driving with Craig Lowndes for the Holden Racing Team in the Sandown and Bathurst endurance events.

Murphy and Lowndes won the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 in 1996 before Murphy took over the HRT Commodore to win a two-round series at Pukekohe and Wellington in New Zealand.

He made the move to V8s full-time in 1997, replacing Lowndes at HRT. A fast car gave Murphy a few round wins but a lack of mechanical reliability stopped his championship charge. Lowndes’ return in 1998 forced Murphy to drive solely in the enduros.

Moving to Gibson Motorsport for 1999 and 2000, Murphy teamed with Steven Richards to win the 1999 Bathurst 1000.

When Kmart Racing was established in 2001, Murphy became its foundation driver and competed for the squad until the end of 2004, winning Bathurst twice with team-mate Rick Kelly in ’03 and ’04, including setting an amazing qualifying lap record in 2003 that still stands. He was also the runner-up for the drivers’ championship in 2002 and 2003.

In 2005 ‘Murph’ moved to Supercheap Auto Racing where he again won his home round at Pukekohe, in the process winning the first of three pole positions in a year of mixed fortunes that saw him miss the top 10 in the driver’s championship by a solitary point. The following year proved more difficult to swallow, a seventh placing in Bahrain his best return and failures to finish at Bathurst and Symmons Plains sending his championship into a tailspin.

Joining Tasman Motorsport in 2007 proved more fruitful with the highlight a fourth placing alongside Jason Richards at his beloved Bathurst, although both 2008 and 2009 were largely frustrating save for brilliant efforts at Bathurst (second in 2008 with Richards and fourth in 2009 with Mark Skaife).

With the closure of the Sprint Gas/Tasman team during the off-season, it’s a rejuvenated Murphy that embarks upon his 13th season as a full-time driver in the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Bathurst 1000 Stats
Debut: 1994 (Toyota Carina with James Kaye)
Starts: 17
Poles: 1 (2003)
Wins: 4 (1996, 1999, 2003, 2004)

Championship Results
1997, Holden Racing Team, Holden Commodore VS: 4th
1998, Holden Racing Team, Holden Commodore VT (1 round): 30th
1999, Wynns/Gibson Motorsport, Holden Commodore VT: 6th
2000, Kmart/Gibson Motorsport, Holden Commodore VT: 6th
2001, Kmart Racing, Holden Commodore VX: 4th
2002, Kmart Racing, Holden Commodore VX: 2nd
2003, Kmart Racing, Holden Commodore VX/VY: 2nd
2004, Kmart Racing, Holden Commodore VY: 4th
2005, Supercheap Auto/PWR Racing, Holden Commodore VZ: 11th
2006, Supercheap Auto/PWR Racing, Holden Commodore VZ: 24th
2007, Tasman Motorsport, Holden Commodore VE: 13th
2008, Tasman/Sprint Gas Racing, Holden Commodore VE: 16th
2009, Tasman/Sprint Gas Racing, Holden Commodore VE: 21st

ATCC/V8 Supercar Championship Series Stats
Debut: 1999 Eastern Creek (Rd 1)
Event Starts: 157
Race Starts: 362
Race Wins: 28
Podium Finishes: 35
Poles: 12
Top 10 Race Results: 185
2009 Best Qual: 2nd, Symmons Plains
2009 Best Result: 4th, Bathurst (with Mark Skaife)

Other Career Highlights
Bathurst 1000 - 1996/99, 03/04: Winner
Bathurst 24-Hour - 2003: Winner
Sandown 500 – 1996, 1997: Winner
V8 International, Pukekohe NZ - 2001/02/03/05: Winner
V8 Supercar Series - 2002, 2003: Runner-up
Bathurst 1000 – 2008: Runner-up
Le Mans 24 Hour (GT2 Class) - 1996: 2nd
NZ Formula Holden/Formula Brabham – 1994/95: Winner
NZ Gold Star Drivers’ Championship - 1994: Winner
Australian Drivers’ Championship - 1994: Runner-up