Murray boosted by performance despite first lap drama

Cooper Murray’s wildcard debut in the main game produced one of the video highlights for the weekend after his #888 Supercheap Auto Camaro was mounted on the opening lap of the Sunday race by Andre Heimgartner.

Earlier in the day, he surprised the field with the fifth-fastest qualifying score in only his second qualifying session in Supercars, which he converted to 10th on the grid in his first shootout.

He thought starting up the pointy end would be better than being deep in the pack, so he was surprised when he saw the underside of Heimgartner’s Camaro after the BJR driver was tapped in the braking zone for turn five. The damage to boost cars was extensive, and while the bodywork was fixed with tape, the steering was damaged during the spectacular incident.

“It’s not what you want, especially when you’re at the front, but unfortunately that stuff happens,” he said. “I thought qualifying up the front would keep me out of the shit, but I was I was proved wrong.

“So, anyway, it turned into another 48-lap time trial learning about the car. I’m just learning to save the tyre and stuff, and I think we came away with something like the fourth fastest lap with all that damage and steering that was bent. The car speed is definitely there. I just wish I could have shown that in the race.”

Murray was one of four drivers to go under the lap record he had set the previous day, but his mind was still clearly on trying to unwrap what had happened on the first lap.

“It is still a mystery. I think we all concertinaed, and from what I’ve heard, Andre got help from behind, which meant he had nowhere to go, and that just put him into me, so from there, you just have to move on. I learned a lot.”

On qualifying for the shootout, he said it was an amazing effort from Triple Eight’s wildcard team and would stand him and Craig Lowndes in good stead when the car next appears for the Sandown 500.

“That’s definitely the highlight of the weekend,” he said of the Shootout, “which was a weekend that went way too quickly. I wish I could do it again.

“We’ve come a long way from where we were in practice one when we were well down. We chipped away at it and made progress slowly, we worked away at it while I learned the car. I’ve come away at the end of the weekend knowing that I can have top-five pace.”

Murray has been hanging around Triple Eight for much of the year, and this time, he was involved in the debriefs as an active participant. He said it felt like he belonged, and the team made him feel like he deserved to be there.

“I felt at home right away. The Triple Eight team welcomed me and took my input. All the engineers helped me and just made it feel really, really special. I feel like I’m at home.

“If we have the speed at Sandown and Bathurst, which I’m sure we will, this is only at the beginning. It’s my first race in the main series and only the second time in the car, really. So we’re only going to get better and better, and we’re going to go out with a bang at Bathurst.”

Cooper Murray in Darwin 2024. Photo Supplied