HRT enduro lifeline lures jobless Murphy
20/1/2001 14:05 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Greg Murphy has been thrown a lifeline by his former employer the Holden Racing Team, which will see him return to frontline racing come endurance time in September.
It has been widely reported in the last few days that Murphy is on the verge of accepting an offer from the factory Holden outfit to join their long-distance driving squad.
Keen to accommodate the 28-year-old Kiwi after a backdoor deal between Fred Gibson and Ford left him without a drive this year, Holden had proposed a new Murphy-led Commodore outfit to run from Larry Perkins’ Melbourne workshop.
The two-car satellite outfit, to be backed by K-Mart (Holden are keen to continue their relationship with the retail giant), now appears to be on the backburner.
The HRT deal would effectively see Murphy watching the majority of the 2001 season from the sidelines - the same situation he found himself in 1998. Television commentary work may be an option.
Murphy was discharged from HRT in '98 when Craig Lowndes returned to Australia to reclaim his mount.
Murphy (together with Lowndes) took the team to Bathurst glory in 1996.
Meanwhile, talks continue between Murphy and Don Panoz regarding further involvement in his American Le Mans program later in the year.
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