With the machinery and technical expertise at their disposal, there is little reason why Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly can't fight toe-to-toe with the red barons throughout the season. They were the only men to consistently lay a glove on HRT last year, and will perform a similar role in 2002.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Greg Murphy was one of last season's most celebrated drivers. The mercurial Kiwi, adorned by his homeland, was the year's most popular winner at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand when he ignited the bumper home crowd with a clean-sweep of race wins.

Such a resounding win, one "better than Bathurst" according to the two-time Mount Panorama victor, would have seemed impossible pre-season when he was left out in the cold by Fred Gibson's defection to Ford. It left an embittered Murphy in a frantic search for a seat just weeks out from the first race.

But this is a driver whose resilience has been as much an asset as his innate racing skill. Through sheer persistence he put together the TWR/K-Mart deal, and hasn't looked back since.

He is in his prime as a driver, with a potential championship-winning package at his disposal - a luxury enjoyed by few. You can bet, after such a promising freshman year with TWR, he won't take the opportunity for granted.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Todd Kelly will be pushing him every kilometre of the way.

Kelly was a genuine star of 2001, quietly slipping into the top ten over the course of the season before impressively pouncing on his first round win in the final event of the season at a rain-soaked Sandown Raceway.

He's the sport's new baby-faced assassin. The former "Young Lion's" boyish appearance belies a driver whose maturity and composure are his most prized assets. He's riding the wave of fresh young talent that has flooded the sport in recent years. And at just 22, he has the motorsport world at his feet.