RACING at Mount Panorama twice in the same season - it is something that Greg Murphy never got the chance to do during his Supercars career but he has no doubt how the drivers who will now get that chance feel.
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"There won't be one driver who won't be fully pumped at that opportunity," he said.
It was in 1997 that the four-time Bathurst 1000 winner contested his first full Supercars season, a year after the sprint round the series ran at the Mount was dropped.
But season 2021 will open at Mount Panorama on Friday with the Bathurst 500, while the Bathurst 1000 retains its spot on the Supercars calendar as well.
It's a move which Murphy has given the thumbs up.
"I actually really like the idea, I like the concept of spending more time at Bathurst and doing a different format," he said.
"I feel we're very fortunate and the sport is very fortunate to have such a significant place to race at and maybe we can start a new chapter to start the season.
"We got used to the season starting with such a big event in Adelaide, it made us all feel good with such popularity and so many people and it's going to be sadly missed what they did ... but how lucky are we to have something to replace it than the level of turning up to race at Bathurst?
"I'm sure the drivers and teams are pumped that the first race back in the championship is where they finished five months ago."
A track like Bathurst is just so significant and every lap you do there you cherish.
- Greg Murphy
The format for the season opener includes a pair of 250 kilometre races - one on Saturday afternoon, the other on Sunday.
There will also be a pair of top 10 shootouts to determine the front of the grid for those two races.
Murphy, the man who produced the renowned 'Lap of the Gods' in the 2003 Bathurst 1000 top 10 shootout, thinks the one-lap flier won't feel the same for drivers as when they vie for pole position in the Great Race.
But he still thinks they will relish the chance to be part of it. In fact he feels that any racing lap at the Mount is one to cherish.
"I'm sure they won't treat it like when you are there for the 1000, but it's still an important part of the fabric of Supercars, everyone loves the shootout," he said.
"To be able to go and have another couple cracks at it, I'm sure it's a chance that everyone will grasp and grab with two hands and give it everything.
"Every lap you do around Bathurst in a Supercar is just spectacular and you are very aware how much of an honour that is to do that and have the chance to drive at that track in the biggest championship in Australasia and one of the biggest championships in the world.
"A track like Bathurst is just so significant and every lap you do there you cherish, so to come back and start the year at Bathurst and do some laps, there won't be one driver who won't be fully pumped."
Murphy himself won't be trackside. Instead he will be in New Zealand and he admits he'll probably be "feeling a bit sorry for myself" once the Bathurst 500 starts on Friday.
"I don't have a plan on when I will possibly be back in Australia with all the restrictions around travel and isolation, that makes it pretty much not viable for me," he said.
"In 1995 I was only doing the enduros and I can't remember if I went to the beginning of the season then, but effectively from '97, I had an enduro year in '98, but from then all the way through till the last year I've been there for the start of the season.
"Even when I wasn't full-time in 2013 and '14, I was at Adelaide at the beginning of the season.
"So it is very different and quite strange not to have plans to come to Australia and the first round or be involved in any capacity. I'm probably going to be a bit of a sore thumb to be honest."
Though Murphy is unsure who will be leading the championship after the Bathurst 500 or who will go on to be crowned the best in 2021, saying: "You've got to be brave and maybe stupid to predict that at the moment", he feels there is no lack of contenders.
At the top of his list are Triple Eight pair Shane van Gisbergen - the last Supercars driver to win at Bathurst - and Jamie Whincup.
"Clearly there's no way you can exclude either of those two guys as being hot favourites and Shane van Gisbergen has had the most incredible off-season in driving every bloody conceivable vehicle that's got wheels and a motor ... and has basically trounced the field in every aspect of what he's done," Murphy said.
"Jamie Whincup, he announced his retirement so what a way for an absolute champion, and some would say the GOAT, to finish up a career with another championship. There's no doubt the effort he'll put into that will be second to none.
"But it's not going to be an easy year for them and I don't expect them to be any sort of runaway success.
"I think Will Davison is going to be super competitive and he must just be rubbing his hands together to have found himself in that position - and deservedly so - to step into a seat in one of the DJR Mustangs. He doesn't have to prove anything, but he's going to want to come out and show everyone he is well worthy.
"You've got Cam Waters at Tickford, he was really starting to find his feet last year and finished with some terrific results. I think he's sort of come of age.
"James Courtney in that team too, I think he's still got a lot to offer. His speed doesn't need to be questioned in any way.
"Chaz Mostert, I think he'll be really exciting for Walkinshaw Andretti United - they've got a really good team there now and I think they've found some of the mojo they've lost and young Bryce Fullwood is proving to be a good team-mate.
"Then Dave Reynolds with Andre Heimegartner at Kelly Grove Racing. There's been some big changes there, some good investment and very, very talented people turn up there to, I think, take that team to another level."
Murphy is excited to see how both the Bathurst 500 and the season as a whole unfolds. In the meantime he'll be in New Zealand filling various roles such as an ambassador for Merlin Garage Door Openers.
"When I got back to New Zealand I lined up an ambassador role with Merlin. They are great people with a great ethos around community and the way they go about their business," Murphy said.
"We all love a garage and I'm big fan of having a good garage and a safe one and they've got great ideas around all that ... it was a really good fit for me."