Testing continues and Murph gets up to speed

There was plenty of interest in the first tests for M3 Racing at Hampton Downs on Monday, as it marked the official track debut of Greg Murphy's new Holden V8 SuperTourer racer.

Murphy got acquainted with his new Mike Pero-backed car in a long afternoon session at the Waikato circuit, and was joined on track by team mates Paul Manuell in his Orix supported car and Richard Moore in his car, with its livery yet to be revealed. Later in the afternoon Andy Booth and Andre Heimgartner joined the party with the first of the AV8 Motorsport machines and both were quickly up to speed.

The surprise of the day was 16 year old Andre Heimgartner who was a mere 10th of a second of Murphs best time on equivalent worn rubber

Although it was just a shakedown test, the drivers completed a significant number of laps, with the cars running right up until around 7pm. Lap times were quick, with 1 minute 4.3 seconds the benchmark set by the end of the day. The testing continues across the country's circuits although the first major series test will be on February 10th at Hampton Downs and will be free to the general public.

January 31st is also the last day to get the Early bird ticket deals with $30 for a three day GA ticket and $50 for a three day Grandstand seat. From February 1st, they go to $30 per day and $50 per day.