Motorsport: Murph excited to be back behind the wheel

Greg Murphy sits in his car prior to practice ahead of the Sandown 500. Photo / Getty Images

Iconic Kiwi racer Greg Murphy is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of a car in a competitive environment again at this weekend's Hampton Downs 101.

The 44-year-old four-time Bathurst winner will line-up alongside track owner Tony Quinn in the latter's Aston Martin for the inaugural Hampton Downs 101 and the relaunch of the North Waikato circuit.

Murphy last drove competitively as a circuit racer in 2014 as a co-driver to V8 Supercars regular James Courtney in the endurance events but has limited himself to some rally driving in recent years.

"It will be good to get behind the wheel of Tony's Aston Martin and enjoy the reopening of the Hampton Downs circuit and the extension," Murphy tells herald.co.nz.

"It will be nice to pull the helmet back on for some circuit racing.

"There are some very cool cars and some very competitive blokes so it is going to be a lot of fun."

Murphy says he isn't too worried about the result though once he gets out in the thick of the action the competitive juices will kick in.

"I'm fortunate that Tony wanted me to come and have a play. He is pretty relaxed and so am I," Murphy explains.

"I suppose there is only a little bit of pride at stake.

"We are there to enjoy the meeting and enjoy what he has done - building and creating this amazing facility."

Quinn has pumped $25 million into the track, extending the circuit by an extra kilometre and improving the infrastructure around the circuit.

The leading drivers believe it is as good as any track in Australasia now and that is why these two Australia GT Endurance Championship events will work in New Zealand.

"We are spoilt for choice now, which is no small part because of him," Murphy says.

"We have three weeks in a row of amazing motorsport events - two in the Auckland region with the Hampton Downs 101 and Supercars at Pukekohe and then the last one down in the Cromwell region at the Highlands 101."