Motorsport: Cancer diagnosis gets drivers working for mate

Jason Richards. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Six months on, Greg Murphy remembers the moment he heard about Jason Richards' cancer diagnosis.

Like everyone in the motorsport community, Murphy has struggled to deal with the fact Richards is fighting a particularly aggressive and rare cancer of the adrenal gland.

The two Kiwis have known each other since the 1980s and formed a close relationship when on the Tasman Motorsport team in 2007-08.

"We were in Tasmania [last November], having a chat and a laugh after the race on the Sunday," Murphy remembers. "At that time, [Jason] had no idea what would happen when he got back to Melbourne the next day. He hadn't been feeling well - everyone had been commenting that he looked like he had lost some weight.

"People assumed he had been training hard and dropped some pounds, not that he needed to lose any, and put it down to that. But he had been struggling, seeing the doctor on a regular basis and not feeling that great."

When Murphy heard the test results his reaction was typical of most: "I wondered, how can this happen? But there are no reasons. His thing is so incredibly rare. There is no reason why. If we knew why, we would be able to fix the bloody thing."

Richards and Murphy met on the karting scene and when Murphy switched to cars in the 1990s, Richards and his father would regularly visit the pit garage. They went on to successful V8 Supercar careers before becoming team-mates for two seasons at Tasman.

"I think we have got even closer since he left Tasman and went to BJR.

"I still can't imagine what he is going through and I don't even want to pretend that I do - but he has made it easy to talk about," says Murphy. "He has been very realistic and open about it.

"You don't like talking about that kind of thing, but we have had some good conversations and he has been candid about where it is all heading."

Richards has astounded his medical staff by insisting on playing a round of golf after each bout of chemotherapy.

He even managed to get back in the car at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. His winning the second race of the development series there was hailed by many insiders as one of the most inspiring performances in V8 Supercars history.

"He doesn't want to talk about it day-in, day-out but sometimes it is good to talk to understand where he is at, what he is working on and how deep he has got into the research to look for options," says Murphy. "That is the biggest thing - to look for options.

"He is talking to people all over the world so he can do the best he can to try and beat it. We have had several conversations about that and are talking on the phone whenever we can.

"It is also important to give him things to get his mind off it so he is not just sitting around at home thinking about it."

While Murphy is focused on getting his career back on track, his mate's plight is never far from his mind.

Murphy and fellow drivers Garth Tander, Paul Dumbrell and Tander's manager James Henderson have set up the website www.bid4jase.com, which will offer donated items for auction. The money is for Richards and his young family.

Among the items are a Holden Cruze Series II donated by GM Holden. The site was launched on Friday with 75 items, and 200 more will be added over the next month.