Murcott, a renowned hard-charger, is one of 50 drivers entered for the Sprintcar Racing Association of Victoria (SRA) series round. But Murcott, who carries the biggest target on his tail tank — Australia one — says rivals have eyes for one man — Veal.

“Jamie Veal is probably the benchmark we all have to beat,” Murcott said.

“He’s won five out of six races so far. He’s been very fast. We ran against him in Sydney last week and he’s got his program running pretty good.”

Murcott, who lives at Toolern Vale, near Melton, and his Queensland-based team, are treating Saturday night’s meeting as a serious build-up to bigger races at the track in January.

“We are going to come and race to win,” he said.

“It’s also important for us to treat it as an R&D (research and development) exercise, test a few set-ups for World Series.

“We haven’t raced this car there very much. We raced it at the Classic last year. We are honing our set-up and it will be good to get some laps on the track.

“It’s a chance to see where we measure up against these guys, especially Jamie, because he’s very quick and like everyone, we need to work out how to beat him.”

The 43-year-old undersold his own form heading into the meeting. He became the first driver to beat Veal this season when he claimed his maiden victory at Sydney Speedway on the weekend.

Murcott is contracted to contest the annual World Series Sprintcars tour around Australia which opens next month and includes a race at Premier Speedway on January 1. He is keen to add that title to his growing list of achievements this season — a feat he narrowly missed in 2011 when he finished second behind Robbie Farr.

“World Series is one I want to tick off the list this season,” he said.

“And the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic (at Premier) is the biggest race in Australia because of the big international contingent and there is a lot of prestige and history. 

“I would really like to tick those off the list this year. We have the car speed and the team to do it. We are feeling very confident about it.”

Murcott won’t be back to Premier for the club’s December 20 twin feature with his team building a new car in time for World Series and a hectic January which includes the Classic, followed by his Australian title defence in Western Australia.

Premier Speedway general manager David Mills said more than 50 drivers were expected to open the track’s sprintcar season on Saturday night, including two-time national champion James McFadden and dual Classic winner Steven Lines. 

The program also includes the modified production trader’s derby.

grbest@fairfaxmedia.com.au