Murphy Prototypes is an

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auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

team founded by ex-single seater racer Greg Murphy. The team is based in

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and currently, compete in the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

driving an

Oreca 03 The Oreca 03 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Oreca in 2011. It is built within the revised 2011 ACO regulations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car made its début at the 12 Hours of Sebring run by Signatech Nissan and set to race at the 2011 ...

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

in the LMP2 class as well as competing at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

History

The team was founded in January 2012 by former Asian Formula Three Championship driver Greg Murphy. They entered into that years

in the LMP2 class with an

. During the opening round of the season at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

, they bowed out early after just 64 laps but finished third at the following round in Donington. The team were also accepted to compete at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

along with 19 other LMP2 entrants. They fielded a strong line up which included Mercedes AMG Formula One test driver at the time

Brendon Hartley Brendon Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his te ...

who now competes in

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

LMP1 programme. The team were highly competitive throughout the race and led for a number of times in the LMP2 class before a gearbox failure in the middle of the night put an end to their maiden Le Mans voyage. 2013 is arguably Murphy Prototypes best season to date. They finished fourth in the

2013 European Le Mans Series season The 2013 European Le Mans Series season was the tenth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's European Le Mans Series endurance auto racing series. It is the first season of the European Le Mans Series under the control of the ACO's Le Mans En ...

which saw the team pick up their first victory in the ELMS at the final round in

. They also finished well at

as the Oreca-Nissan of Murphy Prototypes finished 12th overall and sixth in the LMP2 class. The team signed former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver

Karun Chandhok Karun Chandhok (born 19 January 1984) is an Indian racing driver and television presenter who last competed in Formula E for Mahindra Racing. Previously, Chandhok has competed for Hispania Racing in Formula One in . Before this, he drove in the ...

for the race. Murphy's 2014 campaign saw them finish seventh in the 2014 ELMS standings having earned just one podium in the opening round at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

. Their Le Mans 2014 campaign lasted just 73 laps after a collision during a spell of torrential rain with fellow LMP2 competitors

Greaves Motorsport Greaves Motorsport is a British racing team, currently competing in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2006, Greaves Motorsport, founded and run by Tim Greaves, entered the Le Mans Series (LMS) for the first time, r ...

put an abrupt end to their race. For 2015, Murphy Prototypes have been successfully entered into the

and the

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

for the fourth consecutive year although they have yet to sign any drivers for the season.

Other ventures

In addition to their racing team division, Murphy Prototypes also has an 'Alternative Powered Vehicles' division which specialise in designing cars based around alternative power sources such as electricity. Team principal Greg Murphy is well established in the alternative fuels market having already founded

Biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

Ireland in 2004 and Greenwell Resources in 2010.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

* {{Commons category, Oreca 03 of Murphy Prototypes Auto racing teams established in 2012 2012 establishments in Ireland 24 Hours of Le Mans teams European Le Mans Series teams Irish auto racing teams