Greg Murphy set to make a comeback
April 14th 2008 23:50
Not that he ever went anywhere but fans of the Tasman Motorsport driver could be forgiven for wondering just what has happened to Murphy over the last few seasons.
This coming weekend’s round at Hamilton, New Zealand, will see not just a new paint job for the Kiwi racing favourite, get beyond the skin and Greg Murphy will be roaring around in a car described as being totally different from any other car Tasman have given him in the past.
The exciting new paint scheme on the number 51 Holden was designed by Holden Design and is set to pull Murph back up to the top, however it is eclipsed by the machinery itself, the first to be built in-house at Tasman’s Dandenong manufacturing plant and described by the proud team as a revolution.
One million dollars and five months in the making, a car was born with a revolutionary new driving position with the seat eight inches from the right hand side of the car, the maximum distance allowed under V8 Supercar regulations. An innovative and highly modified driveshaft is the brains behind the change.
“[The new facility at] Dandenong has been set up to do all Tasman manufacturing,” team principal, Jeff Grech, said. “This time last year we had none of our own equipment. When it came to building new cars we had to outsource. We also had to test our engines on someone else's equipment. This has all changed.
“The team's endured a lot in such a short amount of time. If you had the time and the budget you'd certainly do what we've done over 12 months, perhaps two years.
“The reason that we've achieved what we have is not about budget, but about the passion of the people that have been involved. They've put in a lot, but we expected a lot. It's certainly the product of a lot of good people.
“With the ability to build our own cars and to develop our own engines we have absolute control over our own destiny.”
“There's not a thing on or in the car that is carry over from the old car other than the front up-right,” Grech said. “We're not just talking about a completely different body shell; we're talking about everything that goes onto the body shell also.
“It's not been an evolution it's been a revolution. This is a revolutionary car as far as Tasman Motorsport is concerned. It couldn't be more different.
“It includes a lot of input from a lot of our personnel that have background with many championship-winning car builds, combined with some fresh thinking.”
“I think the car looks fantastic,” Greg Murphy said. “It’s definitely the best looking Tasman car I’ve seen, but I suppose I am a little biased.
“The Sprint Gas blue is very different; it’ll help us stand out a lot better.
“The change is good, it’s a vast improvement on what we’ve had so far this year and we look more complete. I’m happy that we’ve been able to give Sprint Gas a car that looks the part. I think we look pretty sharp, hopefully the fans will agree.”
Jason Richards was equally impressed, “I think it gives us an identity, we’re a little more out there,” Richards said. “Fuchs and Powerbuilt really stand out well on the new Holden Red bonnet don’t they?
“You can’t go too wrong with red, white and blue, everyone wears these colours. This should help with our merch [merchandise] sales when our range comes out later in the year.
“I love it! It will look great on my new car when it is ready.”
This coming weekend’s round at Hamilton, New Zealand, will see not just a new paint job for the Kiwi racing favourite, get beyond the skin and Greg Murphy will be roaring around in a car described as being totally different from any other car Tasman have given him in the past.
The exciting new paint scheme on the number 51 Holden was designed by Holden Design and is set to pull Murph back up to the top, however it is eclipsed by the machinery itself, the first to be built in-house at Tasman’s Dandenong manufacturing plant and described by the proud team as a revolution.
One million dollars and five months in the making, a car was born with a revolutionary new driving position with the seat eight inches from the right hand side of the car, the maximum distance allowed under V8 Supercar regulations. An innovative and highly modified driveshaft is the brains behind the change.
“[The new facility at] Dandenong has been set up to do all Tasman manufacturing,” team principal, Jeff Grech, said. “This time last year we had none of our own equipment. When it came to building new cars we had to outsource. We also had to test our engines on someone else's equipment. This has all changed.
“The team's endured a lot in such a short amount of time. If you had the time and the budget you'd certainly do what we've done over 12 months, perhaps two years.
“The reason that we've achieved what we have is not about budget, but about the passion of the people that have been involved. They've put in a lot, but we expected a lot. It's certainly the product of a lot of good people.
“With the ability to build our own cars and to develop our own engines we have absolute control over our own destiny.”
“There's not a thing on or in the car that is carry over from the old car other than the front up-right,” Grech said. “We're not just talking about a completely different body shell; we're talking about everything that goes onto the body shell also.
“It's not been an evolution it's been a revolution. This is a revolutionary car as far as Tasman Motorsport is concerned. It couldn't be more different.
“It includes a lot of input from a lot of our personnel that have background with many championship-winning car builds, combined with some fresh thinking.”
The sexy new Tasman/Sprint Gas livery of Greg Murphy
“I think the car looks fantastic,” Greg Murphy said. “It’s definitely the best looking Tasman car I’ve seen, but I suppose I am a little biased.
“The Sprint Gas blue is very different; it’ll help us stand out a lot better.
“The change is good, it’s a vast improvement on what we’ve had so far this year and we look more complete. I’m happy that we’ve been able to give Sprint Gas a car that looks the part. I think we look pretty sharp, hopefully the fans will agree.”
Jason Richards was equally impressed, “I think it gives us an identity, we’re a little more out there,” Richards said. “Fuchs and Powerbuilt really stand out well on the new Holden Red bonnet don’t they?
“You can’t go too wrong with red, white and blue, everyone wears these colours. This should help with our merch [merchandise] sales when our range comes out later in the year.
“I love it! It will look great on my new car when it is ready.”
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