Motorsport: Murphy hoping to put lean spell behind him

Greg Murphy is hoping the gremlins go away for this weekend's V8 Supercar round at Sandown. Photo / Getty Images

The race for the 2009 Australian V8 Supercar title roars into action this weekend for the seventh round of the championship at Sandown International Raceway in Victoria.

The event marks the halfway stage in the series and reigning champion, Team Vodafone driver Jamie Whincup, has a healthy points buffer at the top of the table over Toll Holden Racing's Will Davison.

Whincup and his teammate Craig Lowndes will be concentrating fully on both races, happy in the knowledge they both have new contracts taking them through to 2012. However, it's all change at the Triple Eight team for 2010 when the Ford blue oval will be replaced with the red of a Holden Commodore.

Team Vodafone lost its Ford sponsorship last year despite winning a third straight Bathurst along with the driver and team championships, so it shouldn't come as any great surprise to die-hard Ford fans that Whincup and Lowndes will be in Holdens next year.

Things may be looking up for the Triple Eight outfit but it's more like Groundhog Day for Kiwi driver Greg Murphy and his Sprint Gas crew. The last two years have had more downs than ups for the four-time Bathurst winner, with a second place at last year's Bathurst, driving with fellow Kiwi Jason Richards, the only real highlight.

Many things have been said about Murphy over the years but being a quitter isn't one of them.

"I looking forward to this weekend's race but lately we haven't had cars competitive enough," said Murphy. "We've had a lot of issues and problems and we've got to fix all that and make them competitive."

Of late Murphy has been a bit of a punching bag for the series, being punted from pillar to post.

"That happens when you're not in a position to be attacking and you're being attacked. Having said that, Symonds Planes was just brain fade on someone else's behalf [Murphy was T-boned by Steven Richards at the hairpin while in fourth place]. There's been quite a bit of bad luck and being in the wrong place at the wrong time over the last couple of years," he said.

Murphy might be 150 races not out, but he's not down and out. He says there's light at the end of the tunnel but he's not sure if it's a freight train heading towards him or daylight illuminating the way forward.

"We've made a few minor chances for Sandown but the focus is making sure we don't have any issues or problems and everything in the car's 110 per cent right," Murphy continued.

Further up the table just outside the top 10 is another Kiwi, Shane van Gisbergen, and he has happy memories of Sandown as last year he snatched a second place finish behind Lowndes in the second race. He continued his good form in the final race to finish a solid fourth after a race-long battle with Todd Kelly.

"A podium is certainly what we're aiming for," said the Stone Brothers Racing driver. "We didn't quite have the outright speed of the other guys last year but the car was good off the corners so when we were in front we were able to stay there."