New Zealand centrifugal racing fable Greg Murphy has officially ruled himself retired of this year's Bathurst 1000.
Murphy, a four-time victor of The Great Race, was acceptable to nexus up with chap Kiwi Richie Stanaway arsenic portion of Boost Mobile Racing.
The brace volition miss aft they were incapable to scope today's deadline, wherever it was hoped they would beryllium granted a MIQ quarantine placement portion besides securing a instrumentality to New Zealand pursuing the race.
"I can't explicate however frustrating it has been not being capable to enactment our program into action," Murphy said successful a statement.
"I cognize it's not the astir important happening successful the satellite and COVID has impacted truthful galore radical successful acold much superior ways, but Richie and I were truly looking guardant to doing this and the effort that has gone into the prep of the car and down the scenes has been enormous.
"We person played by the aforesaid rules arsenic each different idiosyncratic trying to get a spot successful MIQ and astir person amended reasons than we bash for getting a spot and that is the mode it is. It's a lottery and our numbers haven't travel up.
"Boost Mobile Racing has been singular throughout. Peter's imaginativeness and the concern successful this idea, the car and everything that goes into entering a car successful Bathurst is significant, and I anticipation that we tin repay the religion and the enactment of racing fans by looking up to 2022."
Murphy, 49, was hoping to marque his instrumentality to the Bathurst 1000 for the archetypal successful 7 years.
He past raced astatine The Great Race successful 2014 with co-driver James Courtney, finishing 13th that year.
"I privation to convey everyone who has been progressive down the scenes for respective months present successful our effort to beryllium capable to not conscionable bring Greg and Richie implicit to Australia, but guarantee they tin past safely instrumentality home," said Boost Mobile Founder Peter Adderton.
"We are a people-driven institution and we yet could not inquire Greg and Richie to travel implicit present successful bully conscience knowing we had nary wide timeline for their instrumentality to New Zealand.
"We did everything wrong our means to marque this hap and I americium truthful bitterly disappointed that it is not to be. I besides privation to convey the galore fans who person reached retired some publically and privately not conscionable to explicit their enactment but besides to spot however they could help. It shows conscionable however peculiar this would person been, which is wherefore we volition bash everything imaginable to marque this hap successful 2022 instead."
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