It was a memorable weekend for Greg Murphy with a historic round win at the first V8 Supertourers race weekend held at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, watched by 20,000 spectators.
Winning the first two races of the weekend and then placing eighth in the third and final race of thenew series put Murphy on top of the points table in his Northland-owned Holden V8 Supertourer.
The legendary Kiwi driver and four time Bathurst winner drove to victory in a car owned by Whangarei businessman Mark Cromie.
He will be joined in the endurance races by Whangarei driver Caine Lobb - a past V8 Ute Series Champion - later in the season.
Cromie, a multiple champion in the field of offshore powerboat racing, secured the services of Lobb to contest the popular V8 Ute series in the Mark Cromie Holden Ute resulting in numerous race wins and lap records over four seasons plus the series title.
Murphy will drive the Mike Pero-sponsored Holden Commodore over seven rounds held at Hampton Downs, Ruapuna, Manfeild and Taupo and Lobb will join Murphy for the endurance rounds at Taupo in August, Hampton Downs in September and Ruapuna in October.
Lobb has had limited time in the seven litre engined race car but was impressive with just several laps around the Hampton Downs circuit.
"I had five laps in the car first off and then the next session I had just 12 but was just one and a half second off Greg's time and fastest in my group so I was happy with that," Lobb said.
"The cars are mint and they handle so well they feel in some ways like a really powerful large kart."
Murphy currently sits on 625 points over Hamilton's Kayne Scott on 497 and A1GP driving star Johnny Reid on 471 with six rounds remaining. Race three on Sunday was won by Rotorua's Ant Pederson who sits in fourth place on 455.
The V8 Supertourers next contest the series at Powerbuilt International Raceway in Ruapuna, Christchurch, over April 7-8.
