NT's Murrihy a new national champion

The Northern Territory's own Adam Murrihy recently won the ANDRA national championship in Supercharged Outlaws after a massive year of travelling around the country to compete in the Summit Sportsman Series.

Murrihy, the director of Hidden Valley Drag Racing Association supporter AM Cranes, said he felt completely elated when he knew he had wrapped up the title.   

Murrihy, the director of Hidden Valley Drag Racing Association supporter AM Cranes, said he felt completely elated when he knew he had wrapped up the title.

“Towards the finals, there were only three racers with enough points who were main contenders for the championship – Doina Day, David Thornton and myself,” he said. “When the draw was posted Sunday morning there may have been a little relief after seeing Doina and David were racing each other first round. We towed out early to be the first pairing and were successful winning that round through a double breakout. David was also successful, defeating Doina.”

Murrihy had a mental strategy of heading to the staging lanes early to be the first pairing out and not thinking of the championship scenario, but the technique encountered a hiccup in the second round.

“That didn’t work as my opponent was delayed, so Dave was pushed in front of us - he broke out,” he said.

“Then it was my race where I knew I had to win in order to take out the championship. Sitting down the end of the race track waiting for my crew to get to me get to me and deliver the news seemed to take for ever – our tow buggy isn’t the fastest either! I was confident it was a clean pass but sitting down the deep end of the track waiting for the news was tough.

“The crew arrived and there was plenty of hugs, handshakes and high fives! It was an awesome feeling and a massive relief to have won, as we have put so much into this series, but it was a short celebration as we had to get the car turned around for the next round.”

When you come from one of the most remote cities in the country, the travel can be just as difficult as the racing itself. Murrihy said it was a challenge.

“We had our three children, all under six years of age, on board for their first ever road trip,” he said. “Coming from Darwin there were long distances to travel together with the repairs and maintenance to do to the race car between rounds. But these challenges were what also made the trip so memorable and we wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“Every track we raced at we had a different pit crew. A massive thanks to all those who took time off from work and family, to travel hundreds of kilometres to help, I couldn’t have accomplished any of this without them. We had a blast! All the committees and racers at every track couldn’t be more helpful. A special thanks has to go to the track crew at Mildura Sunset Strip for all their help.”

Murrihy believes that a quick and consistent car were what enabled him to beat all-comers to the shiny gold ANDRA Christmas tree.

“I top qualified at every track bar Warwick, so I believe consistency from the car was where we nailed it,” he said. “We spent a lot of time on the road and at the track just maintaining the car and finding problems before they found us.”

With the Summit Sportsman Series now wrapped up for the season, Murrihy turns his focus to Hidden Valley and as well as racing he has also taken on an administration role.

“I have taken on vice president of the committee so I am really look forward to helping out more this year,” he said. “We have an excellent track, great facilities and the Darwin crowd love drag racing so it’s an awesome atmosphere.

 

“I will be racing in Top Comp in Darwin this season, so we might play with the tune up and see what times the car is capable of running.”