A NEW Erebus Motorsport deal for Cooper Murray could well be on the horizon as the Victorian squad seeks to get ahead of the curve.
Murray was signed to replace Brodie Kostecki on a two-year contract covering seasons 2025 and ’26.
While the results sheet shows he wound up 18th in this year’s championship and without a podium, there were flashes of brilliance in his rookie season – headlined by his performance to nearly win the Repco Bathurst 1000.
Murray also qualified third for the washed-out Sunday Albert Park race and was running fourth in the Friday Adelaide race until being speared by Cam Waters.
Incoming teammate Jobe Stewart is thought to be under contract for at least the next three years, and Ryan has spoken about not having a spot available in his roster any time soon.
That will involve extending Murray, in a move that would keep any inquisitive rival teams at bay.
“I think we will,” Ryan told V8 Sleuth of the desire to lock down the #99 driver sooner than later.
“We have just got to make sure we all agree that’s what we want to do, and at the moment, we do.
“It’s happening in the background.”
Ryan added that Murray showed himself to be more than capable, with some learning curves along the way.
“He just put himself in the wrong position a couple of times and got taken out. Sometimes you put yourself in the wrong position and sometimes you have dickheads around you,” he said in typically blunt fashion.
Triple Eight (at least from a Red Bull Ampol standpoint), Grove Racing, Tickford Racing and Dick Johnson Racing all definitively have no vacancies in their primary driver rosters the next two years.
Walkinshaw Andretti United may or may not fall into that category as well pending the contractual situation of its drivers, which is treated with secrecy.
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