Greg Murphy thrilled the crowds with a lights-to-flag victory to show his mastery of wet-dry conditions in the feature race of the third round of the V8 SuperTourer championship at Manfeild Autocourse today.
Murphy made an early break on the wet track, but the rain had already eased and the SuperTourers quickly established a dry line, and making the most of the tyres in these conditions proved to be key to the race.
The M3 racing team seemed to have the right set-up for the conditions, and with Murphy out front the men on the move through the field were his teammates Paul Manuell and Richard Moore - in Orix and Skinny Holden Commodores respectively.
Jonny Reid's set-up and that of team mate Ant Pedersen, did not seem suited to the track and the winner of race 1 and race 2 faded quickly, dropping down behind John McIntyre, Steve Richards, Manuell and Moore. As the tyres struggled with temperatures on the drying track, surprise package Moore looked like the man on the move, sliding the car in great style as he chased down and passed car after car. Manuell pulled a pass on him but soon afterwards fell back s he had asked too much of the tyres. Moore was soon through and chasing McIntyre.
"I started quite low down, so had to put on a charge right from the first lap," said the Canterbury University student. "I just got my head down and went for it, my tyres held on and I was able to come through."
