Greg Murphy

Greg Murphy
Born	(1972-08-23) August 23, 1972 New Zealand
Occupation	Racing driver
Known for	Four-time Bathurst 1000 winner, co-host of Top Gear Live (Auckland)

Gregory David Murphy (born 23 August 1972) is a distinguished New Zealand racing professional, celebrated for his four triumphs at the Bathurst 1000. He also co-hosted Top Gear Live during its Auckland international appearances in 2009 and 2010.

History

Murphy's motorsport journey began at age eight, advancing through karting, saloon cars, and single-seater categories before relocating to Australia. His Bathurst debut occurred in 1994. Between 1995 and 1996, he competed with Brad Jones Racing in the Australian Super Touring Championship and participated in endurance events for the Holden Racing Team (HRT), securing the Bathurst 1000 title alongside Craig Lowndes in 1996. In the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship, Murphy raced full-time for HRT, achieving a fourth-place finish. With Lowndes returning in 1998, Murphy concentrated on endurance competitions.

During 1999 and 2000, he drove for Gibson Motorsport, finishing sixth overall and winning the Bathurst 1000 with Steven Richards in 1999. In 2001, he joined the newly established K-Mart Racing, capturing two Bathurst victories with Rick Kelly in 2003 and 2004. Murphy was twice runner-up in the championship (2002, 2003) and secured fourth place in both 2001 and 2004.

As a leading figure in V8 Supercars (car No. 51 since 2001), Murphy claimed four wins at Pukekohe Park Raceway near Auckland (2001–03, 2005). At Mount Panorama Circuit, he ranks as the third most successful Kiwi with four Bathurst wins. His pole lap time of 2:06.8594 in 2003 remained the fastest at Mount Panorama for seven years and earned the nickname "The Lap of the Gods," a celebrated moment in Bathurst history.

In November 2003, Murphy triumphed at the Bathurst 24 Hour event driving a Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Monaro 427C alongside Peter Brock, Jason Bright, and Todd Kelly. The team narrowly defeated their teammate Garth Tander after leading throughout the race.

Murphy competed for Paul Weel Racing (PWR) during the 2005–06 seasons but faced challenges following a switch to Perkins engines. Difficulties persisted at Tasman Motorsport in 2007. In 2010, he joined Paul Morris Motorsport piloting a Castrol-backed Commodore; however, disappointing results led to their separation within the same year.

In 2011, Murphy signed with Kelly Racing under Pepsi Max sponsorship. Throughout the season, his car featured various graffiti-inspired liveries. His performance improved progressively, highlighted by securing pole position at the Bathurst 1000.

Murphy returned part-time to HRT in 2013 as co-driver with James Courtney for endurance races but experienced a severe crash at Bathurst and another incident at Gold Coast that affected his campaign.

In 2021, Peter Adderton of Boost Mobile proposed a Wildcard entry for Murphy alongside fellow retired Kiwi Richie Stanaway at the Bathurst 1000. The concept garnered substantial fan enthusiasm, resulting in their confirmed participation with Erebus Motorsport’s Boost Mobile-backed entry. Although initially delayed due to travel restrictions, Erebus reinstated the Wildcard for the 2022 Bathurst event. Pre-race solo events were canceled; nevertheless, three test sessions were arranged before the competition commenced at Winton Motor Raceway on June 7.

Significant career milestones

• 1994 – Triumphed in the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild behind the wheel of a Reynard 90D
• 1996 – Achieved second place in the GT2 category at Le Mans; secured victories at both the Bathurst 1000 and Sandown 500 alongside Craig Lowndes representing the Holden Racing Team
• 1999 – Claimed the win at the Bathurst 1000 with co-driver Steven Richards
• 2000 – Finished third at Bathurst partnering again with Steven Richards
• 2001 – Established Kmart Racing following Gibson Motorsport’s transition to Ford and collaboration with Craig Lowndes; attained third place at the Bathurst event with teammate Todd Kelly
• 2002 – Incurred the most severe penalty in V8 racing history, a five-minute sanction, due to a pitlane violation that resulted in a fuel spill
• 2003 – Recorded the fastest lap on the 6.213 km Mount Panorama Circuit during the Top 10 Shootout (2:06.8594, dubbed "The Lap of Gods"); won both the Bathurst 1000 with Rick Kelly and the Bathurst 24 Hour alongside Peter Brock, Todd Kelly, and Jason Bright
• 2004 – Repeated Bathurst 1000 victory with Rick Kelly
• 2008 – Secured runner-up position at Bathurst 1000
• 2011 – Achieved pole position for the second time at Bathurst; concluded the Bathurst 1000 race in third place
• 2012 – Captured victory in the inaugural V8SuperTourer race at Hampton Downs; ended the season as runner-up
• 2013 – Won both the V8SuperTourer Sprint Series and Overall Championship, marking first championship success in 17 years
• 2014 – Successfully defended titles in the V8SuperTourer Sprint Series and Overall Championship; finished second in the Sandown 500 alongside James Courtney
• 2016 – Returned to circuit racing after a two-year hiatus; teamed with Tony Quinn driving an Aston Martin in the Highlands 101, finishing in second place

Personal background

Greg Murphy was born and educated in New Zealand, attending Havelock North High School. Although much of his professional career was based out of Melbourne, Victoria, he currently lives in New Zealand while frequently traveling to Australia for business purposes.

Key career achievements

Year	Competition	Final Standing	Vehicle	Team
1992	Nissan-Mobil Series	3rd	Ford Sierra RS500	Mark Petch Motorsport
1993/94	New Zealand Gold Star – Single Seaters	1st	Formula Brabham
1994	Australian Drivers' Championship	2nd	Ralt RT23 Holden	Triple Eight Racing
1994	Australian Manufacturers' Championship	8th	Toyota Carina	Orix Racing
1994/95	New Zealand Gold Star – Single Seaters	1st	Formula Brabham
1995	Australian Super Touring Championship	4th	Audi 80 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
1996	Australian Super Touring Championship	3rd	Audi A4 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
1996	New Zealand Mobil Sprints	1st	Holden VR Commodore	Holden Racing Team
1997	Australian Touring Car Championship	4th	Holden VS Commodore	Holden Racing Team
1998	Australian Touring Car Championship	30th	Holden VT Commodore	Holden Racing Team
1999	Shell Championship Series	6th	Holden VT Commodore	Gibson Motorsport
2000	Shell Championship Series	6th	Holden VT Commodore	Gibson Motorsport
2000	' American Le Mans Series	36th	'Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S	'Panoz Motor Sports
2001	' Shell Championship Series	4th	'Holden VX Commodore	'K-mart Racing Team
2002	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	2nd	'Holden VX Commodore	'K-mart Racing Team
2003	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	2nd	'Holden VX Commodore Holden VY Commodore	'K-mart Racing Team
2004	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	4th	'Holden VY Commodore	'K-mart Racing Team
2005	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	11th	'Holden VZ Commodore	'Paul Weel Racing
2006	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	24th	'Holden VZ Commodore	'Paul Weel Racing
2007	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	13th	'Holden VE Commodore	'Tasman Motorsport
2008	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	16th	'Holden VE Commodore	'Tasman Motorsport
2009	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	21st	'Holden VE Commodore	'Tasman Motorsport
2010	' V8 Supercar Championship Series	19th	'Holden VE Commodore	'Paul Morris Motorsport
2011	' International V8 Supercars Championship	13th	'Holden VE Commodore	'Kelly Racing
2012	' International V8 Supercars Championship	28th	'Holden VE Commodore	'Kelly Racing
2012	' V8SuperTourer Championship	2nd	'Holden VE Commodore	'M3 Racing
2013	' International V8 Supercars Championship	52nd	'Holden VF Commodore	'Holden Racing Team
2013	' Australian GT Championship	20th	'Chevrolet Corvette Z06 R-GT3 McLaren MP4-12C GT3	'Trofeo Motorsport VIP Petfoods Racing
2013	' V8SuperTourer Championship	1st	'Holden VE Commodore	'M3 Racing
2014	' V8SuperTourer Championship	1st	'Holden VE Commodore	'M3 Racing
2014	' International V8 Supercars Championship	35th	'Holden VF Commodore	'Holden Racing Team
2014-15	' V8SuperTourer Championship	11th	'Holden VE Commodore	'M3 Racing
2016	' Australian GT Championship	24th	'Aston Martin Vantage GT3	'Darrell Lea
2021	'Toyota Racing Series	'15th	'Tatuus FT-60	'Kiwi Motorsport
2021	'TCR New Zealand Touring Car Championship	'6th	'Audi RS 3 LMS TCR	'TrackTec Racing
2021	'North Island Endurance Series	'11th	'Audi TT VLN	'Golden Homes
2022	'Repco Supercars Championship	'—	'Holden ZB Commodore	'Erebus Motorsport
2022	'North Island Endurance Series - 1 Hour	'4th	'Renault Sport R.S. 01	'Golden Homes
2022	'North Island Endurance Series - 3 Hour	'7th	'Renault Sport R.S. 01	'Golden Homes

Full V8 Supercar Performance Record

... [Table continues with consistent layout for following seasons and teams, highlighting significant results and final rankings]

Bathurst 1000 outcomes

Year	No.	Team	Vehicle	Co-driver	Result	Completed Laps
1994	56	Bruce Miles	Toyota Carina	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall James Kaye	23rd place	136
1995	015	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VR	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Craig Lowndes	Did Not Finish (DNF)	10
1996	1	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VR	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Craig Lowndes	Winner	161
1997	15	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VR	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Craig Lowndes	Did Not Finish (DNF)	38
1998*	80	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Vectra	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Russell Ingall	Did Not Finish (DNF)	83
1998	50	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VT	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Mark Noske	Did Not Finish (DNF)	86
1999	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden Commodore VT	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Steven Richards	Winner	161
2000	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden Commodore VT	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Steven Richards	3rd place	161
2001	15	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore VX	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Todd Kelly	3rd place	161
2002	51	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore VX	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Todd Kelly	13th place	159
2003 51 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VY Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall Rick Kelly align=center style=background:#ffffbf; Winner align=center |161
"2004" 51 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VY Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall Rick Kelly align=center style=background:#ffffbf; Winner align=center |161
"2005" 51 Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore VZ Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall Paul Weel align=center DNF align=center |144
"2006" 51 Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore VZ Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall Cameron McConville align=center DNF align=center |104
"2007" 51 Tasman Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Template:Country data "NZL"Template:Namespace detect showall Jason Richards align=center 4th place align=center |161
"2008" 3 Tasman Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Template:Country data "NZL"Template:Namespace detect showall Jason Richards align=center style=background:#dfdfdf; 2nd place align=center |161
"2009" 51 Tasman Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall Mark Skaife align=center 4th place align=center |161
"2010" 51 Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Template:Country data "DEN"Template:Namespace detect showall Allan Simonsen align=center 6th place align=center |161
"2011" 11 Kelly Racing Holden Commodore VE Template:Country data "DEN"Template:Namespace detect showall Allan Simonsen align=center style=background:#ffdf9f; 3rd place align=center |161
"2012" 51 Kelly Racing Holden Commodore VE Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall Owen Kelly align=center 13th place align=center |161
"2013" 22 Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VF *Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall James Courtney *align=center DNF *align=center |85
"2014" *22 *Holden Racing Team *Holden Commodore VF *Template:Country data "AUS"Template:Namespace detect showall James Courtney *align=center 13th place *align=center |160
"2022" *51 *Erebus Motorsport *Holden Commodore ZB *Template:Country data "NZL"Template:Namespace detect showall Richie Stanaway *align=center 11th place *align=center |161

* denotes a Super Touring event

Full American Le Mans Series Results

(legend) (Bolded races denote pole positions) (Italicized races indicate fastest laps)

Year	Entrant	Category	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final Standing	Points Scored
2000	Panoz Motor Sports	LMP	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S	Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	SEB	CHA	SIL	NÜR	SON	MOS	TEX	ROS	PET	MON	LSV	ADE overall:9 class:3	36th	24

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans Performance

Year	Team Name	Co-Drivers	Vehicle	Category	Laps Completed	Overall Ranking	Class Ranking
1996	New Hardware Racing Parr Motorsport	Bill Farmer Robert Nearn	Porsche 911 GT2	GT2	313	14th place	2nd

Complete Bathurst 24 Hour Records

Year	Team Name	Co-Drivers	Vehicle Model	Class Category	Total Laps	Overall Finish Position	Class Finish Position
2003	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Peter Brock Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Jason Bright Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Todd Kelly	Holden Monaro 427C	A Class	527 laps	1st	1st

V8SuperTourer Series

In 2011, New Zealand introduced a fresh touring car championship. Following consultations with Paul Manuell, Greg Murphy co-established M3 Racing, entering three vehicles driven by Murphy, Manuell, and Richard Moore. Business entrepreneur Mike Pero became the primary sponsor for Murphy during the debut season in 2012.

Murphy’s performance in the 2012 season included one pole position, five victories in races, two round wins, and securing the Endurance Championship. Although he missed two rounds due to back problems, he concluded the season ranked second overall.

During the following year, Murphy achieved six race wins and stood on the podium in fourteen out of twenty-one events. After a closely contested final race against Ant Pedersen, Murphy earned his maiden SuperTourer championship.

Complete V8SuperTourer Championship Results

Year	Team Name	Vehicle Model	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13–R21 (summary)	Final Position	Total Points
2012	M3 Racing	Holden VE Commodore	HAM R1 1st	HAM R2 1st	HAM R3 7th	style="background:#ffdf9f;" | MAN R7 3rd	MAN R8 3rd	MAN R9 1st	PUK R15–R17 (top finishes) | Remaining rounds summarized |	2nd	3080	-	2013	M3 Racing	Holden VE Commodore	style="background:#ffffbf;" | HAM R1 1st	style="background:#ffffbf;" | HAM R2 1st	style="background:#ffffbf;" | HAM R3 1st	style="background:#dfdfdf;" | R4–R5 with podiums	style="background:#efcfff;" | One retirement at R6	style="background:#dfdfdf;" | Consistent top finishes thereafter	... (summarized key results)		style="background:#ffffbf;" | 1st	3559

TCR New Zealand

Year	Team	Vehicle	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Final Standing	Total Points
2021	TrackTec Racing	Audi RS 3 LMS TCR	HIG R1 3rd	HIG R2 3rd	HIG R3 Retired	6th place	120 points

External links

• Driver profile at V8 Supercars
• Footage of Greg Murphy’s "Lap of the Gods" at Bathurst
• Greg Murphy featured at Pepsi Max Crew, Kelly Racing