CHAMPION Super2 team Eggleston Motorsport has revealed plans to hand Ronan Murphy a debut later this year.
The son of four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg took part in a two-day Winton test of Eggleston’s #38 ZB Commodore earlier this month.
He won’t be on the Bathurst Round 1 grid this weekend however, with Cameron Crick returning to drive the #38 as part of a two-round deal that also includes Townsville.
Crick has been part of the Eggleston Super2 stable the past two years; he is eyeing a Matt Stone Racing main game wildcard in 2024 and is also campaigning a Southern Cross Truck Rentals Ford Ranger in the V8 SuperUte Series.
Eggleston is set to rotate drivers through the #38 entry at the four rounds where Crick will not compete – and Murph Jr is on the list.
“I was impressed with him,” team co-owner Ben Eggleston told V8 Sleuth.
“We’d love him to do a round or two this year and that still is the plan, he just needs to do a little bit more testing and have a little time to find some budget over in NZ, and we’ll give him a go.
“He’s one of the guys on our list that I want to give a shot at this year.”
Murphy last year was a race winner in Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, but Eggleston is mindful of not throwing him to the wolves with the inevitable spotlight that will follow him.
“Bringing him here would have been hard with the pressure, first round at Bathurst,” said Eggleston.
“Even though we don’t have the pressure on him because he’s Greg’s son, everyone else is going to say, ‘where’s the Lap of the Gods?’
“I didn’t want to bring him here and end up with him hanging out of the wall and ruin his whole year whereas we can take him to a Sandown, somewhere a bit more forgiving where he has been before and he can get a few laps at test days, it’s just the right thing to do.”
Eggleston will again run four cars in total, with incumbents Kai Allen, Cooper Murray and Jordyn Sinni all returning.
Allen is sporting the #1 on his now Coke-backed Commodore after winning the 2023 title.
“If we don’t go back-to-back with either of them (Allen or Murray), I’ll be disappointed,” said Eggleston.
“We should really get a one-two, that’s our plan, is to get a one-two in the championship. And Jordyn has really stepped up at the test days – for his second year, he is really good.
“Hopefully in the fourth car through the year we can get a couple of good young kids and be right at the front and find another Kai Allen or Cooper Murray.”
