Triple Eight hands Murray solo debut in Darwin

Cooper Murray will get an early look at the main game ahead of his Great Race debut, with Triple Eight fielding the rising Super2 star in Darwin.

The 22-year-old will share the #888 Supercheap Auto-backed Chevrolet Camaro with Craig Lowndes at this year’s Penrite Oil Sandown 500 and Repco Bathurst 1000, with the wildcard program launched on Friday.

The Eggleston Motorsport driver will follow the likes of Broc Feeney (2021), Declan Fraser (2022) and Zane Goddard (2023) in racing a Triple Eight wildcard at Mount Panorama.

However, as Goddard did in 2023, Murray will also step into the wildcard Camaro at the betr Darwin Triple Crown, marking his solo Supercars debut.

By Darwin, Murray will have just eight Dunlop Series round under his belt, as well as a test day in the Triple Eight Camaro at Queensland Raceway on May 28.

However, the Melbourne-born driver has been trackside with Triple Eight at events this year, in a bid to best prepare himself for the leap to the main game.

While pumped about his Supercars debut, Murray identified just one hurdle — he will miss younger brother Jett’s Toyota 86 races at Phillip Island on the same weekend.

“To make my Supercars solo main game debut in Darwin is something that I’ve been working towards for quite a while now, and it’s going to be a special weekend,” Murray said.

"My little brother Jett is actually racing in the Toyota 86s at Phillip Island that weekend which is very unfortunate timing, so my family are going to have to split duties at both events.”

Murray and Lowndes helped launch the 2024 wildcard programme at Melbourne’s Grazeland on Friday evening in front of fans.

The young driver’s Dunlop Series season got off to the worst possible starts with two DNFs in Bathurst in February, leaving him 300 points behind teammate and reigning champion Kai Allen.

Already Super2 rivals, Murray and Allen will go head-to-head in both Super2 and Supercars, with Allen partnering two-time Great Race winner Will Davison in the #17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford.

For Murray, the immediate focus with Triple Eight is the upcoming test day, which he has been looking forward to since he was announced alongside Lowndes in February.

“I love the look of my first Supercar — I think it looks amazing. It’s a bit different from what they’ve done in previous years, but this year’s design looks really fast,” Murray said.

“It’s pretty special to launch the wildcard here in my hometown of Melbourne where I’ve grown up my whole life. To have all my family and friends there to help launch it with me and support this amazing opportunity is very special and it’s a cool way to kick off the year.

“I’m so excited at the thought of getting in the car at our first test day. I’ve been looking forward to that moment since we announced I’d be in the driver’s seat.

“But I’m keeping my cool at the moment, watching a lot of racing and on-board vision, as well as going to the events with Triple Eight to learn as much as I can.”

Murray’s Dunlop Series campaign will resume at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint on May 17-19.