TWR, K-Mart throw Murphy career-reviving lifeline
16/2/2001 12:54 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Gibson Motorsport discard Greg Murphy has phoned some friends and used a lifeline to resurrect his V8 Supercar career.
As widely mooted, Murphy has stitched together a deal between TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing), Holden and K-Mart to create the V8 Supercar circuit’s newest outfit – the K-Mart Racing Team. Details of the three-year deal were released earlier this week.
Tom Walkinshaw and the retail giant have come to the rescue of Murphy after he was left out in the cold following Fred Gibson’s backdoor deal with Craig Lowndes and Ford. Murphy has done much of the legwork to secure the deal.
The dual-car K-Mart Racing operation will be housed at the Holden Racing Team’s Melbourne bunker, but will retain complete autonomy. The team will have it’s own technical and managerial staff, and race facility within the HRT complex.
Both HRT and K-Mart Racing will now operate under the banner of TWR Australia.
Former Young Lion Todd Kelly joins the team to pilot the second Commodore.
In a prepared statement, K-Mart spoke of continuing and strengthening their relationship with Holden.
"We are delighted to retain our association with Holden, most importantly for our fans who supported us throughout our inaugural 2000 season, and our 30,000 employees that embraced the team as their own," K-Mart Sponsorship Manager Margi Patrick said.
"We have a firm agreement with TWR to operate and manage the team with our sponsorship now being in the best hands in the industry,” she said.
TWR Australia’s John Crennan was pleased to come to the rescue of his former employee, Murphy.
"The pleasing aspect of the program is that we can provide uninterrupted drives for both Greg Murphy and former Holden Young Lion Todd Kelly, both of whom are likely to be championship contenders in their own right," Crennan said.
The deal is a major blow to the rebel Fred Gibson/Craig Lowndes alliance, who were hoping to retain the K-Mart signage.
It is believed Gibson has also lost valuable personnel, after up to four GMS employees defected to the Murphy/K-Mart splinter operation in the past week.
Kelly will debut the new outfit at the Australian Grand Prix next month, while Murphy will wait until round one at Phillip Island to return to the Supercar circuit.
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