Motorsport: Murphy can win V8 Supercar series, says Brock

BATHURST - Holden legend Peter Brock believes New Zealand driver Greg Murphy has it in him to win the Australian V8 Supercar series.

Murphy, who crashed out of the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday, was identified by Brock as a leading light for Holden next year.

Brock also warned that a lack of driver stability in the Holden was making it easier for Ford to dominate the series.

The winner of three championships has criticised the Holden teams for having too many driver changes in recent years, reducing the challenge to Ford's Marcos Ambrose, who won the title in 2003 and 2004 and is fighting out the 2005 crown with teammate Russell Ingall.

"I think they [Holden] are a little bit disjointed in their team structure and the drivers in their alignment to the teams they're in," Brock said.

"They've just been jumping around a bit the last few years."

However, Brock believes there is a handful of Holden drivers capable of winning the championship next year.

He said "once they settle" the current crop of top drivers, like Bathurst winners Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly plus New Zealanders Murphy and Steven Richards, could win the title.

But Brock added that he thought unsigned driver James Courtney was perhaps their best chance.

"Certainly [Greg] Murphy could do the job. He is a bloody good driver.

"Steven Richards is a good driver and Skaife could do it and, yeah, Todd Kelly probably can.

"But there is one young kid out there [Courtney] ... who could do the job for Holden if they ever got him."

Courtney, who has tested with Formula One teams, drove the second Holden Racing Team (HRT) entry at Bathurst 1000 but crashed out in the first hour.

With Courtney set to sign a one-year extension on his contract to compete in the Japanese Super GT championship, Brock said Murphy, who has a superb record at Pukekohe and Bathurst, should be Holden's leading contender for the title in 2006.

"It is just a matter of [Murphy] learning to be a little bit more ... it is sort of like being a bit more settled in his approach to races," Brock said.

"If you could get Murphy to think like [he does at Bathurst and Pukekohe] on every track he raced on, he would be champ.

"He loves Bathurst and loves Puke and that is how he approaches it. When you start getting this disciplined mind type thing that top class athletes have that is when you start getting consistent results."

Meanwhile, no action will be taken on either Murphy or Ambrose following the crash that put both drivers out of Bathurst. Defending race champion Murphy and champion Ambrose collided on lap 144 of 161, while running in the top five.

They climbed from their wrecked cars and gestured and swore in each others' faces, stopping just short of physical contact. Television replays showed at least two bumps involving the pair as they drove up the mountain but stewards decided neither had a case to answer.

- AAP