Greg Murphy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greg Murphy
Greg Murphy during the 2022 Bathurst 1000
Nationality	New Zealander
Born	(1972-08-23) 23 August 1972 (age 52) Hastings, New Zealand
V8SuperTourer
Years active	2012-14
Teams	M3 Racing
Car no.	1
Starts	157
Wins	22
Poles	4
Fastest laps	11
Best finish	1st in 2013 & 2014
Supercars record
Car number	51
Current team	Erebus Motorsport
Series championships	0
Races	448
Race wins	28
Podium finishes	81
Pole positions	13

Gregory David Murphy (born 23 August 1972) is a famous racing driver from New Zealand. He is best known for winning the exciting Bathurst 1000 race four times! Greg also joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May to host Top Gear Live. This big show happened in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2009 and again in 2010.

Racing Journey

1994 Ralt Formula Brabham race car

Greg Murphy started racing when he was just eight years old. He began with small go-karts and then moved up to faster saloon cars and single-seater cars. Later, he moved to Australia to continue his racing career.

He first raced at the famous Bathurst track in 1994. In the next two years, he drove for Brad Jones Racing and the Holden Racing Team (HRT). He won his first Bathurst 1000 race in 1996 with his teammate Craig Lowndes. In 1997, he raced full-time for HRT and finished fourth in the championship.

In 1999 and 2000, Greg raced for Gibson Motorsport. He teamed up with Steven Richards to win the Bathurst 1000 again in 1999. In 2001, Murphy joined the new K-Mart Racing team. He won the Bathurst 1000 two more times with his teammate Rick Kelly, in 2003 and 2004. While at K-Mart Racing, Greg finished second in the championship in 2002 and 2003.

Greg Murphy is one of the most well-known V8 Supercar drivers. He won four races at his home track in Pukekohe, near Auckland. At the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, he has the third-best record for a New Zealander, with four wins. Only Jim Richards (seven wins) and his son Steven Richards (five wins) have more.

The Lap of the Gods

In 2003, Greg Murphy set an amazing pole position lap time of 2:06.8594 at Bathurst. This was the fastest lap ever recorded at Mount Panorama Circuit for seven years! People still call it "The Lap of the Gods" because it was such an incredible moment in Bathurst racing history.

In November 2003, Greg also won the Bathurst 24 Hour race. He drove a powerful Holden Monaro 427C with teammates Peter Brock, Jason Bright, and Todd Kelly. They led the race from start to finish, winning by a very small margin.

After 2004, Greg raced for different teams like Paul Weel Racing and Tasman Motorsport. In 2010, he joined Paul Morris Motorsport. In 2011, he moved to Kelly Racing and even got pole position for the Bathurst 1000 again.

In 2013, Murphy returned to the Holden Racing Team for some races. Sadly, he had a big crash at Bathurst that year, which ended his race. He also had another crash at the Gold Coast event.

In 2021, there was an idea for Greg Murphy and fellow New Zealand racer Richie Stanaway to return to the Bathurst 1000. Fans loved the idea! In 2022, it was confirmed they would race together for Erebus Motorsport.

Key Achievements

2008 Holden VE Commodore V8 Supercar

Here are some of Greg Murphy's most notable achievements in his racing career:

• 1994 – Won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild Autocourse.
• 1996 – Finished second in the GT2 Class at the famous Le Mans race.
• 1996 – Won the Bathurst 1000 and Sandown 500 with Craig Lowndes for the Holden Racing Team.
• 1999 – Won the Bathurst 1000 again with Steven Richards.
• 2000 – Finished third at Bathurst with Steven Richards.
• 2001 – Helped start Kmart Racing. Finished third at Bathurst with Todd Kelly.
• 2002 – Faced a big penalty in a V8 race due to a pitlane mistake by his team.
• 2003 – Set the incredible "Lap of Gods" record at Mount Panorama Circuit (2:06.8594). Won Bathurst 1000 with Rick Kelly. Also won the Bathurst 24 Hour race with Peter Brock, Todd Kelly, and Jason Bright.
• 2004 – Won Bathurst 1000 for the fourth time with Rick Kelly.
• 2008 – Finished second at Bathurst 1000.
• 2011 – Got pole position at Bathurst for the second time and finished 3rd in the 2011 Bathurst 1000.
• 2012 – Won the first ever V8SuperTourer race. Finished second overall in the season.
• 2013 – Won the V8SuperTourer Sprint Series and the Overall Championship. This was his first championship win in 17 years!
• 2014 – Won the V8SuperTourer Sprint Series and Overall Championship for the second year in a row. Also finished second in the Sandown 500 with James Courtney.
• 2016 – Returned to racing and finished second in the Highlands 101 race.

The Holden VE Commodore of Greg Murphy at the 2011 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

Greg Murphy at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix

Greg Murphy at the 2014 ITM Auckland 500

Personal Life

Greg Murphy was born and grew up in New Zealand. He went to Havelock North High School. For most of his racing career, he lived in Melbourne, Australia. Now, he lives back in New Zealand but still travels often to Australia.

Career Results

Career Highlights

Bathurst 1000 Results

Murphy & Richie Stanaway's 2022 Bathurst 1000 Holden

Year	No.	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
1994	56	Bruce Miles	Toyota Carina	James Kaye	23rd	136
1995	015	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VR	Craig Lowndes	DNF	10
1996	1	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VR	Craig Lowndes	1st	161
1997	15	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VR	Craig Lowndes	DNF	38
1998*	80	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Vectra	Russell Ingall	DNF	83
1998	50	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VT	Mark Noske	DNF	86
1999	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden Commodore VT	Steven Richards	1st	161
2000	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden Commodore VT	Steven Richards	3rd	161
2001	15	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore VX	Todd Kelly	3rd	161
2002	51	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore VX	Todd Kelly	13th	159
2003	51	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore VY	Rick Kelly	1st	161
2004	15	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore VY	Rick Kelly	1st	161
2005	51	Paul Weel Racing	Holden Commodore VZ	Paul Weel	DNF	144
2006	51	Paul Weel Racing	Holden Commodore VZ	Cameron McConville	DNF	104
2007	51	Tasman Motorsport	Holden Commodore VE	Jason Richards	4th	161
2008	3	Tasman Motorsport	Holden Commodore VE	Jason Richards	2nd	161
2009	51	Tasman Motorsport	Holden Commodore VE	Mark Skaife	4th	161
2010	51	Paul Morris Motorsport	Holden Commodore VE	Allan Simonsen	6th	161
2011	11	Kelly Racing	Holden Commodore VE	Allan Simonsen	3rd	161
2012	51	Kelly Racing	Holden Commodore VE	Owen Kelly	13th	161
2013	22	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VF	James Courtney	DNF	85
2014	22	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VF	James Courtney	13th	160
2022	51	Erebus Motorsport	Holden Commodore ZB	Richie Stanaway	11th	161

* Super Touring race

American Le Mans Series Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points
2000	Panoz Motor Sports	LMP	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S	Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	SEB	CHA	SIL	NÜR	SON	MOS	TEX	ROS	PET	MON	LSV	ADE ovr:9 cls:3	36th	24

24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall position	Class position
1996	New Hardware Racing Parr Motorsport	Bill Farmer Robert Nearn	Porsche 911 GT2	GT2	313	14th	2nd

Bathurst 24 Hour Results

The 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour winning Holden Monaro

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall position	Class position
2003	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Peter Brock Jason Bright Todd Kelly	Holden Monaro 427C	A	527	1st	1st

V8SuperTourer Series

In 2011, a new racing series called V8SuperTourer was created in New Zealand. Greg Murphy was very interested! He teamed up with Paul Manuell to create M3 Racing. Greg, Paul, and Richard Moore would drive three cars for the team. New Zealand businessman Mike Pero became Greg's main sponsor for the 2012 season.

In the 2012 season, Greg had a great year. He won a pole position, five races, and two overall round wins. He also won the Endurance Championship. Even though he missed two races because of back problems, he still finished second overall in the championship.

In the 2013 season, Greg made up for missing out on the title. He won six races and finished on the podium (top three) 14 times out of 21 races! After an exciting final race against Ant Pedersen, Greg Murphy won his first V8SuperTourer championship title.

He continued his success in the 2014 season, winning the Sprint Series and the Overall Championship for the second year in a row.

TCR New Zealand