Waipuk's familiar territory for Murphy

Greg Murphy may be the king of V8 Supercars but success didn't come easily for the former Havelock North driver.
In his book Murph's Law he tells the amusing story of how his father, Kevin Murphy, had arranged to sell a $400 television set that was first prize in a karting series. The problem was Greg hadn't even got his hand s on it at that stage.
When Murphy did, the $400 went straight into paying his entry fee for a racing scholarship that he won from 147 other hopefuls, including another talented Hawke's Bay driver, the late Ashley Stichbury, the only person to have ever won two New Zealand Formula Ford titles.
Murphy (Holden) and Stichbury's father, Paul (Humber 80), will be competing at Te Onepu and Pukeora hillclimbs this weekend.
It will be familiar territory for Murphy whose grandparents lived in Waipukurau and where he competed in his very first ever at the old Waipawa kart track at the age of eight. To this day he remains a financial member of the Hawke's Bay Car Club, which is co-hosting the hillclimbs with the Hawke's Bay Vintage Car Club.
The two-time defending Bathurst 1000 motor race champion has an added incentive as he chases a fifth chequered flag on the legendary Mount Panorama course next month, according to an NZPA report.
He all but out of contention for the 2005 V8 Supercars title, can pocket a cool $A20,000 ($NZ22,150) if he wins the traditional Top 10 shootout, claim pole position for the 161-lap race and break his existing lap record.
Murphy, who also won in 1996 and 1999, set the fastest time for a lap of the 6.2km circuit in 2003 - a scorching 2min 06.8594sec.
He shaved more than a second off the previous mark - a feat considered one of the greatest individual performances in Australian motorsport history - though Murphy believes he could set a new standard on October 8.
"It might have been quick, but it was far from perfect and it's beatable," he said.
"Coming out of the Dipper I went from second gear down to first instead of going up to third gear. I buzzed the motor and it cost me a couple of tenths (of a second).
"The conditions will need to be right." The race is on October 9.