Motorsport: Murph faces D-day on V8 round

V8 SuperTourer series leader Greg Murphy will know this week if he is able to race at the second round of the new series at Ruapuna Raceway in Christchurch this Easter weekend following an operation to repair a ruptured disc in his back. The Mike Pero Holden driver had been troubled by the injury which he suffered in a 2010 crash and re-injured in his recent massive shunt during qualifying at the 2012 season-opening Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. The four-time Bathurst winner will get the nod from medical advisers either way on Thursday, and has told V8 SuperTourers officials that he plans to be in Christchurch whether he is racing or not. A number of names have been mentioned in connection with the M3 Racing seat for the race should Murphy not compete, but team chief executive Paul Radisich said: "Greg is the championship leader and a crowd favourite so everyone is holding out as long as they possibly can for him. It's his call. "Having said that, if it is not possible for him to race we do know there are a couple of big name drivers out there very keen indeed to step in for a one-off appearance."