Murray designed, built and raced his first car in 1964 as an 18 year old engineering student in his native South Africa. He decided to pursue a career in automotive design, went to the United Kingdom and soon had a job at Brabham Formula One. He was 19 years of age.
In the 18 years he spent at Brabham F1, he designed cars that won 22 World Championship races working closely with drivers such as triple world champions Sir Jack Brabham, Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet and twice-winner Graham Hill.
When Murray moved to McLaren Formula One, his cars won four consecutive World Constructors Championships from 1988 through 1991 with drivers titles for Ayrton Senna in 1988, 1990 and 1991 and four-time-world champ Alain Prost in 1989. In an industry where very clever people congregate, few people have been part of the success of so many multiple world champions - Prost (four), Sir Jack Brabham (three), Niki Lauda (three), Nelson Piquet (three), Ayrton Senna (three), and Graham Hill (two).
In 1988, Murray's McLaren MP4/4 became the most successful Formula One racing car in history. Piloted by the extraordinarily talented driver pairing of Prost and Senna, the car had 16 starts for 15 wins – it was leading the remaining race when Ayrton Senna ran into a backmarker. In motor racing, there's no such thing as a perfect season, but McLaren went very close that year with its powerful Honda engines and Murray's ability to design cars which go around corners as fast or faster than all comers.
