Motorsport: Murphy wins V8ST opener

Greg Murphy mastered the wet and dry conditions at Highlands Motorsport Park during the opening round of the V8ST series. Photo/Geoff Ridder

Murphy wins all three races but has young Heimgartner hot on his heels

V8 SuperTourers driver Greg Murphy has traded in his long-serving #51 for the No1 plate this season as the reigning champion, and he certainly lived up to it over the weekend at the Highlands Motorsport Park.

At the opening round of the 2014 series, Murphy put the depleted field to the sword by winning all three races in the wet and dry conditions. Although challenged by Andre Heimgartner in the first two races, Murphy was masterful in the wet on Sunday afternoon, leaving the field trailing in his wake.

"My experience racing V8s over the years gives me a big advantage, and of course, I've raced here before," said Murphy.

"This opening round has been a bit easier than last year when we had a full field and with the likes of Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin and others competing.

"I quite enjoy the track. It's complicated and it's a constant challenge.

"Young Andre has got quite a lot of pace and he pushed me a bit and he was quicker than me in a few spots. We were a pretty well-oiled machine this weekend and we certainly didn't have it all our way last year.

"It's only the first round of the season and there's a long way to go yet. We're expecting bigger and better numbers at Manfeild in two weeks but there's still a lot of work to do."

Murphy's domination led at least one team manager to think Murphy's M3 team must have found some new developments for his car, but the driver laughed that off.

"We haven't done anything to the car. We haven't had time since last year," he said.

His closest competition came from rising youngster Heimgartner, who was glued to Murphy's bumper for a number of laps during the weekend, finishing second in races one and two.

"I had a couple of looks [at overtaking] but I didn't want to risk hitting him," said Heimgartner. "It's all about finishing and getting good points.

"Over the break I've had a think about a lot of stuff, how I drive and how I conduct myself in the car, and that's paying off. And getting the chance to follow Greg made me learn a few things."

In the final race, the 20-lap feature, Murphy's teammate Richard Moore came second, while Heimgartner's fourth was enough to give him second place in the championship standings.

Mark Gibson achieved a highly creditable breakthrough by coming third in his first meeting as a fulltime driver in V8STs. He had been a co-driver in the endurance events last year but has now taken over John McIntyre's Ford Falcon.

"That was a real full-on race," he said. "We kept it clean and looked after our tyres so we had a car we could fight with at the end. John was on the radio mentoring me - he's very calming, which makes a big difference."

International Motorsport's Ant Pedersen, who finished a close second in the 2013 championship, took a third and fourth in the first two races with his Ford, but in the final he came last after losing time in the pits with a power steering problem.

Simon Evans also started with a fourth and a third but he dropped down the field in the final after spinning his Holden. His team had worked hard on Saturday afternoon replacing a blown engine. Eddie Bell's car suffered a similar fate but was unable to make the grid for Sunday's races.

Angus Fogg had the crowd on its feet after he monstered his car into the pit wall, destroying it. The safety cage did its intended job and Fogg suffered only a stiff neck. Mitch Cunningham had an all too close view of the accident, especially when Fogg ricocheted back into him.

"Angus hit the wall and bounced back," said Cunningham. "I saw it coming and moved as far to the right as I could, but I couldn't avoid hitting him."

The seven-round series continues at the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild from February 8-9.

V8ST points

1. Greg Murphy - 291
2. Andre Heimgartner - 228
3. Richard Moore - 213
4. Ant Pedersen - 192
5. Mark Gibson - 172
6. Morgan Haber - 158