24h Le Mans
For Greg Murphy, the Irish team principal of the team which bears his name, rugby is lived as intensely on a daily basis as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the European Le Mans Series, of which he is one of the major players in the LM P2 class.
This year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans holds a unique place on Greg Murphy's calendar, midway between the Six Nations Championship (won this year by Ireland) and the Rugby World Cup. And for the second year in a row, he will once again be able to count on the talent of young French driver Nathanaël Berthon behind the wheel of his Oreca-Nissan (LM P2 class) at the 83rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans…and for lively discussions about rugby!
Greg Murphy: "I myself played rugby and the Irish team is truly fantastic, it plays consistently at its highest level and I am very happy to have witnessed it win a second Six Nations Championship in a row. As to the upcoming Rugby World Cup, how Ireland fares will depend on the how well the current elevated level of the national team players is maintained. If it is, there will be some great surprises in store."
Nathanaël Berthon: "Naturally, Greg talks to me about rugby all the time, especially when Ireland beats France! Sometimes, he doesn't even say hello and just immediately starts a conversation about rugby. It's very enjoyable in any case! That said, this year the Six Nations Championship was sort of a warm-up, things will get really serious in autumn at the Rubgy World Cup."
Greg Murphy: "To talk about rugby with Nathanaël is awful for him! But seriously, we are good friend. He is exactly the type of driver we need: he is young and brilliant, he goes after it in order to reach a higher level and has understood that Murphy Prototypes can help him get where he wants."
Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Copyright Jean-René ROGER - VSA
PHOTO: TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM), SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT, ELMS, 4 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, SATURDAY 11 APRIL 2015, RACE.
