AFTER a COVID-affected false start last year, the wildcard entry that will bring Kiwis Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway back to the Repco Bathurst 1000 is back on for 2022.
The news was confirmed today in Perth where the latest round of the Repco Supercars Championship is being held at Wanneroo Raceway.
The duo will drive a Boost Mobile-backed, Erebus Motorsport-run #51 Commodore ZB in the October classic, marking Murphy’s first Supercars start since 2014 and Stanaway’s first since departing Garry Rogers Motorsport at the end of 2019.
They will get three test days, beginning at the end of June.
Holden legend Murphy features prominently in our ‘Racing the Lion’ Holden motorsport celebration book, get your copy here now on sale for a special price!
PODCAST: Greg Murphy opens up on ‘that’ Bathurst incident with Marcos Ambrose and much, much more
Murphy, who turns 50 in August, hasn’t competed in a Bathurst 1000 since 2014 when he shared a Holden Racing Team Commodore with James Courtney.
His last Supercars start was in that year’s Gold Coast 600, though he’s driven a range of Supercars during practice sessions since in his pit reporter television role.
The Kiwi won ’The Great Race’ in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2004 and took pole position for the race in 2003 and 2011.
This year will mark his 23rd Bathurst 1000. He made his debut in the race in 1994 in a two-litre Toyota Carina alongside Englishman James Kaye though has exclusively raced Holdens in the 1000-kilometre classic ever since.
Bathurst 2022 will mark Murphy’s 201st Supercars Championship round and 443rd championship race.
Stanaway, 30, hasn’t raced since the 2019 Newcastle 500, his final appearance with Garry Rogers Motorsport.
The Kiwi won the 2017 Sandown 500 with Cam Waters for Tickford Racing and drove full-time for Tickford in 2018 before making the move to GRM in 2019.
Forced to step out of the car for a time due to a neck injury that season, he was later benched by team boss Garry Rogers partway through the Gold Coast 600 though returned for the remainder of the season.
The Kiwis will drive Erebus Motorsport’s spare Commodore ZB, the same chassis they had intended to race in last year’s Bathurst classic before the wildcard tilt was benched given Australian/Kiwi travel restrictions at the time.
