Murphy takes aim at 2005 Championship
7/4/2005 15:53 (Press Release) -
Kiwi ace Greg Murphy starts his 2005 V8 Supercar Championship assault this weekend at the Clipsal 500 and the four-time Bathurst winner is as fired up as ever in the pursuit of the series crown that has eluded him.
The move over the off-season to Super Cheap Auto Racing has refreshed Murphy but he believes the massive changes of drivers and teams during the off-season could see a few surprises towards the front of the field.
“It’s hard to say who will pop up there. There will definitely be the ‘regulars’ in Ambrose, Skaife and the like, but there’s been so many changes in the off-season that there might be the odd curve ball. The Grand Prix was a little that way where there were some others who showed good form that perhaps surprised a few people.
“Our results at the Grand Prix totally aren’t indicative of where we’re at with our car. I’m very happy with the way it’s falling into place. I had a good start to the year there last year so I reckon we’re overdue for a victory.
“I’m pretty impressed by the way things ran at the AGP from an internal team perspective so if we can continue along that path we’ll be more than right.”
Weel, who has finished third and fourth in the past two Clipsal 500s, says that increasing his performance in qualifying is essential to improving his results in 2005 but he’s hungry to score his first podium finish in V8 Supercars.
He finished third in the 2003 Adelaide event though only after Russell Ingall had stood on the podium before being given a time penalty that dropped him down the order.
“I’ve had a podium result in the record books but never been able to stand up there on one of them!” said Weel.
“I really just want to get to Adelaide and get stuck into the year. Our cars were pretty quick there last year in the race so that gives us some confidence of them rolling out of the truck and being on the pace.
“We learnt plenty from the Grand Prix about having a consistent car and that’s what you need at Adelaide. My goal is to qualify in the top 10 because if you’re in there it makes for a smoother race and you’re less likely to get caught up in drama.
“The team have put in some big hours to repair the car. The boys have worked across the weekend to bolt all of the parts back into it once it got back from Dencar (the chassis constructors) and the paint shop.
“The drivers side and passengers side doors copped most of the impact and it’s made for a fair bit of work for the crew.”
The Super Cheap Auto Commodores will make their first appearance this Friday at the Clipsal 500 for two practice sessions followed by qualifying and the top 10 shootout.
Both Saturday and Sunday’s race will be 250-kilometres each (over 78 laps) and Network Ten will cover the event from 1pm to 5pm on each of the two days of racing.
Release Date: 15/03/2005
Super Cheap Auto Racing - PWR
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