It was a relaxed DMA Motorsport / Koala Furniture Team which took to the start of the 2003 VRC season finale on Saturday morning. Having already secured the 2003 Racetech Steel VRC Group N Title, the team's aim for this rally was simply for the best the rally result they could get for the season and they weren't to walk away disappointed.

The Akademos Rally, based in the Alexandra/Thornton region outside of Melbourne saw six stages of sideways action and serious fun. Danny Murphy and Ross Lilley went into the round knowing that on 56 points they were unbeatable for the Group N title. Danny was going for broke to see how his Group N Impreza would stack up against the more powerful PRC cars which the Group N Subaru has been running against this season, without the pressure of risking a DNF.

The day began with fantastic coverage of the event on local radio, although Ross commented that the live radio interview experience was probably more nerve wracking than the rally itself. Danny thought the coverage was fantastic and a good chance to explain the ins and outs of the VRC series and rallying itself to local fans.

Conditions warmed up early and the sun beat down on crews bringing the temperature to almost 40 degrees. While service crews lounged about the Thornton football ground service area trying to stay cool, the drivers and co-drivers were hard at it in the forest heat.

It was to be the hottest November day recorded here this century, according to locals. "And there we are doing a rally," said Danny. "We really hadn't planned for this heat. We had an overheating car and an overheating driver. Days like this definitely bring your fitness into question."

With the first two stages under their belt, Danny and Ross returned to service in fourth position - a position they maintained until the end. Service two saw a bent lower control arm and engine over heating problems but these were to be the only mechanical problems for the day.

"I am very happy with how the car performed," said Danny, who built the car in the off-season prior in his Clayton workshop. "We have worked the car very hard today and it stood up well. I'm very pleased with how well everything has gone."

"We went through 12 tyres today, a new set at each service and even when the Dunlops had lost their edges, the compound was doing the job. We were running the new Dunlop SP85-R F61's and they worked really well which gave us a lot of confidence with our corner speeds," explained Danny.

Only four rounds of the five in the 2003 Racetech Steel VRC series count for final points, allowing crews to drop their worst result or to miss a round, as Danny and Ross were forced to do with the North Eastern Rally. "We have had four starts and four finishes this season," said Ross. "We can't do much better than that. It's consistency which wins the day and I'm very pleased with the result." The normally unflappable Ross, was rumoured to have been seen performing a small Petter Solberg impersonation after the final stage, ecstatic at both the Group N win and the Akademos result.

The final result not only saw the team take Group N with a total of 72 points but also for Danny to finish 5th outright in the series and Ross in the 4th outright in the co-driver's points. Following in Group N for the series was David West in 2nd on 40 points and Fabian Apps finishing 3rd on 30 points. While Peter Montgomery took the event win here at the Akademos, Mike Reeves took the series outright title.

"I am very happy with the result, happy for both ourselves and also for the whole team. This has been a good result for both our sponsors and all the people who have supported us and helped us through out 2003," said Danny, grin from ear to ear, Ross nodding in agreement. "We started the year with a plan and we have achieved what we had hoped for, which is great with rally being so unpredictable!"

"We also had a whole new team for the year. The only original members were Andrew Baxter and my father, (Dan Murphy Senior). It was also the first year for my son Adam to be involved," said Danny. "And judging by the feel of this event Group N seems to be really taking off. There were 4 Group N cars in the top 7 here, which is great for a VRC. With David West in his Proton, Steve Ashton and Chris Snell with their Evo VII and Fabian Apps in his Evo III in the series, I hope we get more of the same level of interest in 2004."

"It's proof in what we believed in at the start of the year, that more people would turn to Group N here in the VRC, rather than the more expensive jump to ARC competition. And when I checked we are only 1.5 seconds a kilometre of the PRC cars anyway. If we had pace notes I believe we would be right up there with them as well, as we wouldn't lose so much speed on the corners but that's another story."

While the VRC maybe over for 2003, the team still have two events remaining on their calendar. Next weekend Ross will leave his road book behind and head to Bendigo to drive an autocross event in his own Group N WRX Impreza - the same car the duo recently drove to 16th Outright at the NGK Rally of Melbourne.

Following this will be Dan Murphy Senior's drive in the Alpine Rally where he will take to the start with 90 fellow competitors in the VH Holden Commodore, which he and Steve Poore drove to 15th Outright, 4th 2WD home in the Round Australia event in 1998.

Danny and Ross would like to thank their sponsors Dunlop, Koala Furniture, Lilley Doors, Taka Technical Systems, Castrol, A R Mouldings of Bendigo and DMA Motorsport for their faith, support and loyalty this season. Thank you also to the series sponsor Racetech Steel and all of the event organisers and officials for their support and also to photographers, Joel Strickland and Paul 'Golly' Mollison. We hope to see everyone again in 2004 for another season in the VRC.

Thank you also to the service crew - Andrew Baxter, Ross Easton, Grant Sheppard, Danny Murphy (senior), Adam Murphy, Chris Pearce and Simone Martin. And from the team, a huge thank you to Danny and Ross for a whole season of the most fun we've ever had at a rally. Photo by Paul 'Golly' Mollison.

Danny and Ross would also like to dedicate this Group N title to Steve Poore - teammate, dear friend and dearly missed. A fitting tribute, as Steve died doing what he loved on the roads used in stage two of this rally in 1999. Steve Poore - gone but not forgotten, ever.