The subtle change that delivered Murray breakout

Amidst a horror start to the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship, Sunday at the betr Darwin Triple Crown could be proof that there's light at the end of the tunnel for Erebus Motorsport.

Following a rollercoaster 18 month period addressed by CEO Barry Ryan last Friday in Hidden Valley, Jack Le Brocq's heavy accident in the Race 17 Safety Car restart stack-up looked set to keep Erebus anchored to the bottom of the teams standings.

However, whilst Le Brocq's incredible turnaround to claim a front row start and fourth in Sunday's 200km finale, it overshadowed an impressive performance by rookie teammate Cooper Murray.

The 23-year-old's struggles initially continued with a 23rd place starting position after qualifying, but in the hours before race start, there was a crucial breakthrough on the #99 Camaro.

Adopting the set up philosophy of experienced teammate Le Brocq paid dividends for the two-time Super2 race winner, with Murray charging through the field into 13th at the chequered flag.

However, if it wasn't for a small error, the Melburnian believes he could've been knocking on the door of a top 10 finish at a venue where he starred with a Top Ten Shootout appearance in Triple Eight's wildcard last year.

"Especially after that race, my side of the camp's a lot happier," Murray said after the Darwin finale.

"We went to two different directions this morning in qualifying, and as you could tell, one was 23rd, one was second.

"So, we went Jack's direction for the race and the car was an absolute rocket ship. We managed to come through 10 spots and probably would've finished 11th if I didn't stall in the pits.

"So, lost a couple of places there, but overall a good day."

One thing that has never been questioned by those within the team during Erebus' form slump has been team morale, with Murray further doubling down on that sentiment on a day they moved out of the last two pit garages.

"It's never dropped, to be honest," Murray said.

"No matter what anyone says, those keyboard warriors on social media, the team spirits are high here.

"All we wanna do is go out there and get good results. So, we keep pushing as hard as we can away from the track of the workshop and also at the track to make sure we can do the best we can as a team."

The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship continues at the NTI Townsville 500 from July 11-13. Tickets for the event are on sale now.