Supercars Bathurst II

Deadline set for Murphy/Stanaway wildcard

A deadline of this Friday evening has been set for a final call on whether the Greg Murphy/Richie Stanaway Bathurst 1000 wildcard will go ahead.

Andrew van Leeuwen

Edited: Nov 11, 2021, 11:29 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway, Erebus Motorsport

The New Zealand-based pair are currently sweating on landing a place in the Managed Isolation and Quarantine programme to facilitate their return home following Bathurst.

Getting back to NZ is the last remaining stumbling block for the Boost Mobile-backed, Erebus-run entry, with the passage to Australia now free thanks to the freshly-opened New South Wales border.

Boost boss Peter Adderton has been vocal on the matter through his social media channels recently, calling on NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern to intervene.

He even offered local journalists $1000 to pose the question directly to Ardern at a live press conference.

Adderton today issued a formal statement on the matter, confirming a decision on the wildcard will be made by Friday evening.

"We know that many Supercars fans across both New Zealand and Australia are excited to see this come to life," he said.

"It would be the good news story of the Bathurst 1000 and provide joy to so many racing fans. We have the car built and ready, and everything is in place. Well, almost everything. We also need to make sure the guys can get back home to their families after the race or this simply won't be possible, and we'll need to make a decision by the end of the week.

"What these guys are going through, trying to get approvals out of the NZ MIQ system many times now to be able to enter back into New Zealand, is a frustration felt by many. These are professionals who need to be able to leave New Zealand to ply their trade and make a living for their family.

"They are willing to follow all the rules, testing and other protocols, but we can't even get them into the system for a return to NZ.

"There is a lot of preparation, planning and cost that goes into entering a special car for the Bathurst 1000, that we announced at the start of this year before the most recent outbreak and lockdowns.

"The guys have been great in doing their own preparation in New Zealand, we just want to be able to deliver something incredibly special to sports fans in both countries after a very difficult last few years.

"We have been working around the clock for a while now to try and get both guys into the NZ MIQ system without any success, and are also appealing to the authorities for an exemption."

Murphy added: "The team at Boost Mobile Racing have backed me with an opportunity to race Bathurst one last time, and for that I'm eternally grateful. The response and anticipation from fans has been overwhelming.

"We have played by the same rules as every other person trying to get a spot in MIQ and now can only hope something comes through from the government. COVID has impacted so many people in far more serious ways, we know it is a hugely challenging time for so many, but naturally the thought that this opportunity may not eventuate is still very disappointing."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Gen3 Mustang Supercar completes first laps ahead of 2023 debut

Next article Van Der Drift linked to KGR Bathurst seat

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

The surprising convergence behind F1's increasingly competitive 2026 season

Formula 1

The surprising convergence behind F1's increasingly competitive 2026 season

“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 3 h

“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return

Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 4 h

Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign

Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Las Vegas GP

4 h

Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts