FOUR Great Race wins, a Bathurst 24 triumph and the 'Lap of the Gods' - Greg Murphy is a man who has proven himself at Mount Panorama and is now on a mission to help another Kiwi do the same.
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Murphy has been lured out of retirement to race an Erebus Motorsport wildcard entry at this year's Bathurst 1000. The man he will share his seat with is 29-year-old Richie Stanaway.
While Stanaway won the 2107 Sandown 500 and later that year impressed in pouring rain at Mount Panorama when placing 16th with Cameron Waters, Murphy feels he is yet to really show what he is capable of.
Stanaway's best results from four appearances in the Bathurst 1000 before retiring in November 2019 are a pair of 12ths.
"I think the thing I am most excited for is seeing how Richie gets back in a race car and how he performs. For me that's a big thing because I'm a huge supporter and I suppose a bit of a fan of his skill set and what he's done overseas," Murphy said of Stanaway,
"He didn't like the result the last time that he drove and the fact that he pulled the pin on going car racing, we were all losers of that as we didn't get to see the full extent of his talent in Supercars."
Murphy, who has another four Bathurst 1000 podiums to go with his victories in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2004, is realistic about their chances this year.
He knows that being away from the sport means he and Stanaway are not likely to challenge for a podium, but he's still excited about the opportunity to tackle the 161-lap epic again.
"You want to just do the best job you can, I'm not going to be unrealistic at all about what is achievable," he said.
"We just want to put on a good show and if it means we're part of the puzzle there towards the end that would be amazing, but there's a lot of hoops to jump through before that.
"Seven years, it feels like a very long time and I definitely feel I've moved on in those seven years away from thinking I am a race car driver.
"But things change and opportunities present themselves and we make decisions that we hope we don't regret. These things don't come along every day so I've got to be a bit thankful and humble and take it for what it is."
The Bathurst 1000 is set for October 7-10.
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