Mark Skaife to be Paired With Greg Murphy at Mt Panorama

Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife will drive the #51 Sprint Gas Racing Holden at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island and the Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

“It’s exciting for the team and the sponsors to have Mark Skaife join us,” Greg Murphy said.

“Experience counts for heaps at Bathurst and Skaifey’s got more of that than anyone else out there.

“I guess he wasn’t really ready to hang up his helmet for good last year and was planning for an enduro return.

"Mark wouldn’t do it if he didn’t think he could do it - and do it well, that’s the kind of guy he is. If that blinker eyed focus is back - look out!”

In what is a dream pairing for not only Sprint Gas Racing but V8 Supercars, the highly credentialed drivers have experienced success at Mount Panorama on nine occasions between them and will be aiming for a 10th.

A win would emulate the multi-race winning heroics of past pairings such as Peter Brock and Allan Moffat in 1986 (10), Skaife and Jim Richards in 2002 (11) and Brock and Richards in 1988 (12) at the top of the list.

On joining the Network Seven commentary team this year Skaife made it no secret that he desired to return to the enduro race environment at Phillip Island and Bathurst in 2009.

With Skaife’s availability it was an ideal opportunity to pair Holden’s most successful Bathurst heroes in the one car, while it was a pointer to Skaife’s intentions when he tested Murphy’s No. 51 Commodore at Winton in early May and at Sandown last month. 

“From my point of view pairing up with Murph is ideal because we both know exactly what is required on the day,” Mark Skaife said.

“No one gets around the mountain better than Murph when he’s dialled in - four wins and a long standing lap record are testament to that.

“Sprint Gas Racing is a strong outfit with some good strategic operators like Jeff Grech and Mike Henry calling the shots.

“Last year Sprint Gas went excellently at Bathurst to run a close second, I reckon this year the team has the potential to go one better.”

Skaife had his first official run as a Sprint Gas Racing driver at today’s Winton test day.

Although both drivers have raced Holdens at Bathurst for a combined 35 years they have never co-driven with each other - even with both racing at HRT in 1997 and 1998.

Sprint Gas Racing Sporting Director Jeff Grech is relishing having Murphy and Skaife in the one car.

“This is a big coup for Sprint Gas Racing,” Grech said.

“Murphy and Skaife together is a formidable pairing; they have a lot of experience, have had a lot of success and are still absolutely focussed on one common goal – to win.

“Their individual strengths compliment each other nicely; I think they will be a serious contender at both Phillip Island and Bathurst.”

Grech believes that both driver pairings will be strong.

“With Mark Skaife and Mark Noske joining our full time drivers I believe we have two lead cars both capable of doing well,” Grech said.

“Jason Bargwanna is a Bathurst winner, he knows what to do, and Mark Noske is one of the most experienced drivers out there.

“We have the potential to have two bites of the cherry.”

Sprint Gas Racing came second at Bathurst in 2008.

Murphy and Skaife will be paired in the #51 Holden Commodore and Jason Bargwanna and Mark Noske in car 3 at Phillip Island and Bathurst.

Bargwanna and Noske were paired together at Bathurst in 1997 when at Holden Young Lions. The pair failed to start due to a weekend ending accident prior to the big race, while that same year they were ninth at the Sandown 500.

The L&H 500 at Phillip Island is on September 12-13 and the Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000 is held on the weekend of October 10-11.

Source: www.sprintgasracing.com