News

Hey everyone, firstly I would like to thank you all for all the emails of support  and concern over the last couple of months. It has been a very testing and stressful time for a lot of people. The uncertainty  of Tasman and the subsequent sale of the Tasman licences was a disappointing period for all those who worked so tirelessly to make it successful.  Unfortunately there were too many things working against us to get through the turbulence and the only option was to windup the team. Fortunately, nearly every one of Tasman's employees has found new jobs and GMR has retained a number of the team for its own operations this year.

For me the last couple of seasons were very difficult professionally.  There were only a handful of races in which I was satisfied with the performance and this was hard to explain given the belief I had in the team and the direction we were going with development. The Tasman built VE Commodores were very well engineered cars, but lacked consistency, which is something I will always struggle to understand. To have one of the quickest cars at Bathurst two years in a row and to come so close to winning it, but then struggle to qualify in the top 20 at other races was incredibly frustrating.   Then to end it all with my best qualifying result personally for Tasman, at the Sydney Telstra 500, our  last race for the team, just doesn't make much sense to me, or my engineer!

V8 Supercars is a big business and your performance is based purely on results - you don't perform and the business becomes a lot harder to operate. Tasman, unlike a lot of other teams, didn't have the backup of another business entity or wealthy Team owner who could bail it out financially. We definitely made some mistakes along the way, some decisions didn't quite work out as planned and this combined with performance inconsistencies put us in a bit of a downward spiral.

Being a V8 SuperCar driver is an awesome job but unfortunately, like any job, you are  judged on your performance. Many people have judged   my performance over the last 3 or 4 years, none so more than myself and  I have questioned if racing V8's was still for me. Racing for 18^th is not what I call fun, and after having success in this championship nothing pains me more than just making up the numbers.  Just being a race driver is not what it is all about for me.

I really appreciate all your kind words at the race meetings when I haven't exactly been positive about the day's results. I suppose the demise of Tasman may give you all some idea of how hard it's been lately.

 The good news is that things are about to change. When I decided to find another drive for 2010 I didn't know what was going to be out there. Before too long a few options became apparent, but I didn't want to rush into anything unless it was going to be a big step forward. The future of Tasman was still undecided and many different outcomes were being touted.

During the week of the Gold Coast event everything started to fall into place. I had discussions with PMM and Castrol and not long after the deal came together!!

The truth is, I am still pinching myself. This is a great deal and more than I thought could be possible. I have worked with Castrol during my K-Mart and SCAR days and they are a Blue Chip Sponsor who put a huge effort into their Motorsport Sponsorship so I am really excited to be working with them again.

The chance to have a 888 chassis to drive is also very cool. They have undoubtedly  produced the best cars in the series over the last couple of years and I am certain their attempt at a Commodore will be no less successful. I just hope they don't get too upset when the Green, Red and White 888 chassis is out in front of them.

Teaming with my old mate Russell will be great. We would have to be the most experienced team, which may not count for much, and I am sure the younger blokes won't offer up any respect, I probably wouldn't either. Russ and I have the same goals and we both know how to win races which is really the only acceptable result. A lot of people think there will be sparks, but a fair few thought the same when the Skaife announcement was made last year. At the end of the day we are a team and we need to work as one to achieve what is expected of us.

PMM are a great operation with plenty of resources and I have been lucky enough to have my Tasman Engineer, Adam DeBoree, follow me there. It makes  the transition to a new team a lot easier because of the understanding Adam and I already share, which is an integral part of a successful team.

 So, all this stacks up to be to be a very exciting 2010. Unfortunately it isn't going to get off to the same start as everyone else in the Championship.

Last year I was very privileged to be the third presenter on Top Gear Live in NZ, which was a truly awesome experience.  Subsequently, the opportunity to present the show again in 2010 was offered to me in May. While a lot of people may assume I have chosen TGL over racing because I will miss the first round of the championship, this is absolutely not the case. Trust me when I tell you, the thought of missing any round of the championship leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I continue to struggle with the whole scenario. When the offer to present the show came up I was in "no man's land" with Tasman and even my future in the sport.  Also, there was no provisional V8 Calendar for 2010 and to be honest could anyone seriously see the first round of the championship being in the Middle East in the second to last week of February?? I didn't! At the end of the day I made a commitment, it was unable to be changed and I am not into reneging on contracts. Telling the team, during negotiations, wasn't an enjoyable experience, but I really have to thank PMM and Castrol  for their understanding.  It is far from ideal, especially at the start of a new relationship, but we have worked through it and made it viable.

I am looking forward to being a part of Top Gear again, but it will be very strange knowing car 51 will be running around the Yas Marina Circuit half the world away.

 The support I have had from my sponsors has been amazing and I can't thank them enough. Carrying over from 2009 are PowerBuilt Tools, MTA, Big Ben, Earthex, HSV, Hertz Car Sales, XXXX Gold/Lion Nathan, KTM, SeaDoo BRP, Fly Emirates, Oakley, Alpinestars, GT Bicycles and Tissot Swiss Watches. Obviously my relationship with Holden has been long one and I couldn't be happier that it is continuing and I can't thank them enough for the effort put behind me with this new deal.

 I am also stoked to include Monster Energy as a new sponsor for 2010. Monster were new into the Australian and NZ Market for 2009 and have already made a huge impact. Their Green Claw has become synonymous in action sports and Motorsports around the world. My new 2010 Helmet paint scheme has had the" Monster Influence"  and looks insane, so look out for it very soon.

Forging long term relationships is so important in sport and I am very lucky to be involved with people that have such great values.

 There have been a lot of you asking about "Murph" Merchandise. I can tell you that it is underway and we should have it within the next couple of months.

 Finally, I have had  a great holiday with the family in NZ and I'm fully recharged for the new season. It is going to be a very busy year and I am very confident that it is going to be a successful one too.

 Once again, thanks for all the support and encouragement and I look forward to seeing you all at some stage during 2010.

 Cheers Murph.