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Greg Murphy’s warning to Supercars co-drivers ahead of enduro season
Savannah Lendich Jonkers • September 1st, 2026 8:09 am
The Bathurst 1000 | Photo: Clay Cross/Photosport
Former champion Greg Murphy knows firsthand how difficult it is to step into an enduro seat.
Co-drivers are expected to share the workload with primary drivers during long-distance endurance races, but one mistake can cost their full-time teammate a chance at victory - and potentially a finals spot under the new Supercars format.
“It's the pressure to not let down your main driver (and to) not make a mistake,” Murphy told Sport Nation Afternoons.
Greg Murphy | Photo: Alan Lee/Photosport
And it’s pressure the four-time Bathurst champion is well experienced with.
“I actually made a mistake at Bathurst in 2013 and crashed the car, put the car out of the race and the weight on my shoulders that I felt because I'd let him (James Courtney) down was just an awful feeling.
“I actually didn't enjoy the feeling of having that much pressure on me to do that.”
Murphy warned that returning drivers can face a significant challenge when getting back behind the wheel.
“People will go ‘yeah but you've done so many laps you've done all this blah blah blah’ but when you're not driving all the time it actually becomes really mentally challenging and I decided I didn't want to deal with that anymore.”
Greg Murphy partnered James Courtney in the 2013 Bathurst 1000 | Photo: Clay Cross/Photosport
The first of two enduros, which Murphy described as a “build up for Bathurst”, will take place at The Bend from September 11-13. Then the Bathurst 1000 will follow on from October 8-11.
Fortunately for the three full-time Kiwi drivers, they will all be partnered by co-drivers who competed full-time in the Supercars championship last season.
Matt Payne will be partnered by Will Davison in the No. 19 Grove Racing Mustang, Ryan Wood will share Walkinshaw TWG’s No. 2 Supra with Jaxon Evans, and Andrew Heimgartner will team up with Bryce Fullwood in Brad Jones Racing’s No. 8 Supra.
Payne won last year’s Bathurst 1000 with Garth Tander, Wood led laps before an engine failure ended his race and Heimgartner finished seventh.
Matt Payne on winning Bathurst from 18th | Sport Nation Afternoons
Richie Stanaway will also return to the Supercars paddock after a year away, joining James Golding at Blanchard Racing - his former teammate at Premier Racing.
Teams stayed behind at Queensland Raceway after the Ipswich 440 to practise driver changes and build familiarity ahead of the enduro campaign.
“They'll be doing a huge amount of work together just looking at all the one-percenters, making sure everything is as seamless as possible, you've got to get comfortable in the car, seatbelts, drink systems, all that kind of stuff is integral and you've got to actually spend time on doing all that.”
Listen to the full interview below:
