Greg Murphy out for three months !!

[ForumNick]

Greg Murphy out for three months with more back issues:



Full Story here!

[Reload]

It's a sign Greg , time to lighten your
duties to about 2 races a year.

[anthony81901]

Presumably there is a limit to the number of rounds a enduro co-driver can contest before he is considered a lead driver. Maybe each of the KR co-drivers will do a round each?

The car's former pilot in Jason Bargwanna could slot in, although not sure on what terms he parted with the Kellys at the end of 2010. Perhaps Cameron Waters is in with a shot?

[bluesport]

If Murph retired now, would he qualify to be an enduro driver at Bathurst?

[GTRMagic]

Kelly Racing To Stick By Murph!

I mean they could hardly not.. considering the need to keep Pepsi excited enough to perhaps want to stay there without Mr Murphy in the seat next season...

There are a number of drivers who have carried injuries (or are still carrying them..) into various races... that dont get a lot of airplay.

A replacement will be interesting... makes you wonder whether there are interested parties perhaps able to offer a budgetary contribution in order to secure the seat...

[Armco Bender]

Unlike Elvis...Murph will be back..

[formerf1champ]

Did someone say Murph will be out for three months?

[Scrut]

Originally Posted by formerf1champ

Did someone say Murph will be out for three months?

Well put. I could not agree more.

[mspence]

Murph's been around for the last couple of years?!

[rich07]

This could be good for murph, give him time to recharge the batteries and be ready for a good year in 2013.

Three cheers for Murph!

[NZSTfan]

I wonder how this will affect Murphs SuperTourer Enduro responsibilities. presumably if he can't drive a supercar for 3 months the same would apply to the SuperTourer series in NZ as well. Thats a real blow for the NZ series. And with Fabian secured as his co-driver for the V8ST's then one would assume he would take the lead role and another driver would come in (maybe Daniel Jilesen who has raced for Murphy racing in the fujitsu series last year??)

[Icarus_nz]

Originally Posted by NZSTfan

I wonder how this will affect Murphs SuperTourer Enduro responsibilities. presumably if he can't drive a supercar for 3 months the same would apply to the SuperTourer series in NZ as well. Thats a real blow for the NZ series. And with Fabian secured as his co-driver for the V8ST's then one would assume he would take the lead role and another driver would come in (maybe Daniel Jilesen who has raced for Murphy racing in the fujitsu series last year??)

Tsk tsk. You should know there is a 3 month break now til Sept STFan

[mountainstar]

Sounds like he had a "ruptured" disc previously, which the best treatment for is about 6 months of avoiding any strain on the back or body(which a V8 Supercar is not going to provide) and letting it heal completely. In most cases it will heal completely with no further action needing to be taken. Sounds to me, previously he went the surgery route to rush back into it, now it's gotten worse, requiring major surgery. Of course as a driver you don't want to miss your commitments, but these types of things if you rush, you could end up with a career ender as well. Nobody wants to be sidelined and forgotten, but there is only so much doctors can do.

Hopefully it works out for him and he comes back when his body is ready.

[TSR]

Originally Posted by Scrut

Well put. I could not agree more.

Toucheeeeee

[Timu]

I see this as a perfect way for KR to audition potential drivers for the remaining Nissan factory seats next year. Also a way to give the likes of Owen Kelly and Tim Blanchard some decent race miles before the Enduros.

Can drivers enter both a main series and development series drive at the same meeting? (For example: Townsville coming up)

[Umai Naa]

I don't think so. Hence why the race numbers are inclusive of both series.

But you're on the money with giving their enduro pilots a good run.

[NZSTfan]

Originally Posted by Icarus_nz

Tsk tsk. You should know there is a 3 month break now til Sept STFan

V8ST website claims he will be out for first enduro...

The operation is likely to force Murphy out of four V8 Supercar Championship rounds including next weekend's Skycity Triple Crown in Darwin as well as the opening endurance round of the V8 SuperTourers Championship in New Zealand on the first weekend of September.

Buggar

[Jerico]

Originally Posted by NZSTfan

V8ST website claims he will be out for first enduro...

The operation is likely to force Murphy out of four V8 Supercar Championship rounds including next weekend's Skycity Triple Crown in Darwin as well as the opening endurance round of the V8 SuperTourers Championship in New Zealand on the first weekend of September.

Buggar

Well we are all a little sad that Murph will be out of action for so long, he has brought a lot of interest to the NZST series so far. I truly believe the series has brought heaps of interest, for even the most critical motor racing fans and for us normal everyday racing people. The last round was tremendous, it would have been the best racing we have seen here for a long, long time, with the exception perhaps of SC's, now and then.
Murphs car was not the best all weekend, it had some serious handling problems for him to cope with, but he showed us all what a class act he truly is, by keeping a poor handling car in the top three for most of the weekend.

[Gaz170]

Forgetting all the comments about is he a good driver/is he a terrible driver, his body seems to be telling him it's time to retire.

[smokin'joe]

Originally Posted by Gaz170

Forgetting all the comments about is he a good driver/is he a terrible driver, his body seems to be telling him it's time to retire.

you could be onto something there:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsp...percars-future

make an excellent co-driver for enduros, whist have a play in NZST's

[NZSTfan]

I think we can all agree that Greg probably saw this coming a few years ago, i.e. he has had back issues, has not performed to the standard he would like, some say the car he has with the Kelly gang is a bit of an underperformer, so putting him on the back foot right from the get-go.

In that time he has made a major contribution to the V8ST series and i think its pretty obvious that next year he will be full time (or as full time as you can go in NZ) driver in NZ. He will also more than likely have opportunities for Aussie enduros (esp. bathurst), but with so many young guns coming thru the ranks it makes his chances dwindle as time goes by.

Personally, i think it will be sad to finish his time with Supercars, but at some point you have to call it a day and look elsewhere. NZ is his obvious option, as it is his homeland, he still has a huge fan-base (myself included) and he's racing really well in our SuperTourers.

So thats where i think he will end up next year

[yap]

Originally Posted by NZSTfan

some say the car he has with the Kelly gang is a bit of an underperformer, so putting him on the back foot right from the get-go.

I think David Reynolds has proved that theory correct this year

[harcey]

Originally Posted by yap

I think David Reynolds has proved that theory correct this year

not really...reynolds managed to get into arguably the best team this year.....murf has always been focussed on the dollar,and i believe his promo/driveday life has impacted on his racing,he is only 40 ish and that is not over the hill by any means....i would wager that if he concentrated on driving only he would be a similar package to lowndes......as has been proven many times in the past...

[thunderbolt]

time to find out how bad - good murphy is
http://www.speedcafe.com/2012/06/21/...ve-townsville/
Jacques Villeneuve gets Pepsi V8 drive at Townsville

[STEALTHY]

Originally Posted by thunderbolt

time to find out how bad - good murphy is
http://www.speedcafe.com/2012/06/21/...ve-townsville/
Jacques Villeneuve gets Pepsi V8 drive at Townsville

Cause that went so well for him in 2010 at surfers