Promising Hawke's Bay motor sport driver Ronan Murphy is in analysis mode in the countdown to the 2018-19 New Zealand Formula First Championship.
"Data analysis will help when it comes to reducing my lap times by those last few tenths of a second and so will getting a bit of advice from dad," said the son of Hawke's Sports Hall of Famer and four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy.
A 17-year-old Napier Boys' High School Year 12 student, Murphy, finished third overall in the four-round Feilding Auto Electrical Winter Series which finished at Manfeild earlier this month. He finished fifth at the final meeting with fifth placings in all three races in the 12-strong field where competitors race cars which are powered by 1200cc engines.
"Throughout the day we struggled a bit for speed, qualifying fifth on a very damp track and eventually finishing fifth in all three races, with the last race being very wet. The highlight of the day was getting the second fastest time in race two and for the day which put me on grid two for race three," Murphy explained.
"This was a good start to my campaign in this class and I was pretty happy with third behind drivers who are more experienced in the class," Murphy said, referring to Rotorua's Blake Evans, the winner and New Plymouth's Thomas Boniface the runner-up.