Murphy sweeps surfers streets to win
26/11/2004 20:53 (Press Release) -
Kiwi star Greg Murphy has taken his second V8 Supercar Championship Series round win in a row by clinching victory in yesterday’s Gillette V8 Supercar Championship on the Gold Coast.
Murphy won Sunday’s tough 30-lapper after leading from start to finish, and in the process has moved himself up to third spot in the championship.
The race two victory, along with the second place he secured in Saturday’s opening race, were good enough for him to win the round, despite being equal on points with race one winner Marcos Ambrose.
“Today was a great result,” said Murphy, fresh from his Bathurst win a fortnight ago.
“The race was a hard slog. The brakes really came back to life after the late-race Safety Car period we had but the tyres didn’t, so I had to be a bit careful.
“We’re now third in the championship after the weekend and all it’s going to take is one non-finish from someone and we’re right back in it. We’ve crept back into the hunt but it’s going to be tough. Realistically, we’re still in it.”
Murphy’s success was tinged by a difficult weekend for Rick Kelly. The 22-year-old did a strong job in qualifying, taking the #15 Kmart Commodore to third fastest in the Top 10 Shootout, before contact with Russell Ingall at the first corner of the Saturday race caused a tyre to rub on the guard.
The team elected to bring Kelly into the pits to replace the cut tyre and he was sent back in the order, dropping a lap after serving a drive-through penalty. He re-joined right behind race leader Ambrose and simply shadowed him to the finish to take 21st spot, drawing the ire of the defending champion, who clearly has let the pressure get to him over the past few rounds.
Ambrose hit his brakes early at the end of the race after crossing the finish line, with Kelly narrowly avoiding hitting the Falcon. The Tasmanian also verbal abused Kelly in the pits after the race, even before the pair could have time to remove their helmets.
“I am very disappointed in Marcos for the incident at the finish of the race,” commented Kelly.
“We were very lucky because there was a cigarette paper between me hitting him and the pair of us being in the wall and injured. I wasn’t interfering in the race at all. For the last 10 laps I was out there and just making sure I didn’t fall back from Marcos and hold Murph up.
“I couldn’t see where he was trying to let me through, if he was at all. The comments he made when I got out of the car were quite obscene. He threatened that next time he’d put me in the wall. It’s very disappointing to have someone carrying on in that manner.”
The Stewards found Ambrose guilty of careless driving and fined him $10,000 for his actions. Stewards will hear the issue of his post-race confrontation with Kelly prior to the next round of the series.
Kelly made a flying start in Sunday’s second race, moving up to 12th from 21st on the grid, before contact with Jason Bright at the VB Chicane put the latter into the concrete wall and that handed Kelly a drive through penalty.
Kelly immediately apologised to Bright, who was uninjured, and PWR Racing team owner Kees Weel for his mistake, which dropped him to 26th in the race and fourth in the championship.
There are just two rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship Series left to run, the next being the Tasmanian Triple Challenge at Symmons Plains in three weeks time. It’s the first time the V8 Supercars have raced on the Apple Isle since 1999.
The final round of the series will be the BigPond Grand Finale at Eastern Creek at the beginning of December.
FINAL RESULTS – Round 11, Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge, Gold Coast, Queensland, October 24 2004:
1. Greg Murphy #51 Kmart Commodore VY, 189 pts
2. Marcos Ambrose #1 Pirtek Falcon BA, 189 pts
3. Todd Kelly #22 HRT Commodore VY, 180 pts
4. Jason Bargwanna, #10 Orrcon Falcon BA, 171 pts
5. Simon Wills, #44 Dodo Commodore VY, 165 pts
6. Max Wilson, #888 Betta Falcon BA, 156 pts
7. Cameron McConville, #33 Valvoline Commodore VY, 147 pts
8. Jason Richards, #3 Tasman Commodore VY, 144 pts
9. Paul Radisich, #88 Betta Falcon BA, 138 pts
10. Steven Johnson, #17 Shell Helix Falcon BA, 135 pts
25. Rick Kelly, #15 Kmart Commodore VY, 57 pts
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 11 of 13 rounds):
1. Marcos Ambrose, #1 Pirtek Falcon BA, 1856 pts
2. Jason Bright, #50 PWR Commodore VY, 1690 pts
3. Greg Murphy, #51 Kmart Commodore VY, 1665 pts
4. Rick Kelly, #15 Kmart Commodore VY, 1622 pts
5. Russell Ingall, #9 Caltex Falcon BA, 1609 pts
6. Steven Richards, #11 Castrol Commodore VY, 1509 pts
7. Todd Kelly, #22 HRT Commodore VY, 1483 pts
8. Jason Bargwanna, #10 Orrcon Falcon BA, 1309 pts
9. John Bowe, #12 Ozemail Falcon BA, 1293 pts
10. Garth Tander, #34 Valvoline Commodore VY, 1251 pts
Release Date: 25/10/2004
K-Mart Racing
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