FEATURE - Craig Lowndes interview

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos: Russell Colvin, unless indicated

Before Triple Eight Race Engineering announced their driver and co-driver pairings for this year’s Bathurst 1000, some feared Craig Lowndes - still one of the most popular drivers in the Supercars Championship four years after retiring from full-time driving - may miss out. But thanks to Supercheap Auto and Triple Eight, Craig’s got a seat, a new co-driver and a measure of confidence for an eighth victory at the Great Race.

When Triple Eight’s driver pairings for Bathurst were announced back on 5 June, there were no real surprises, with 2020 Great Race winners Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander teaming up again in the #97 Red Bull Ampol Racing ZB Commodore, while Jamie Whincup would join Triple Eight’s new signing, Broc Feeney, in the #88 car.

At the same media event, Triple Eight confirmed that they would once again field a wildcard at Bathurst this year, with Craig getting the seat alongside Super2 driver, Declan Fraser. This mix of youth and experience reflects the approach taken by Triple Eight for last year’s wildcard entry, when Russel Ingall partnered Feeney.

Also continuing the trend from last year is Supercheap Auto sponsorship on the Triple Eight wildcard (which will be car #888 this time), ensuring that the auto parts retailer, who were naming rights sponsors for the Bathurst 1000 from 2005 to 2020, will continue to have a presence at Mount Panorama.

The Old and the New

The Lowndes/Fraser entry is one of four Bathurst 1000 wildcards this year, with the other high profile returnee being Greg Murphy, who will partner Richie Stanway in an Erebus Motorsport ZB Commodore, backed by Boost Mobile.

Murphy’s return means that Lowndes, who turned 48 in June, won’t be the oldest driver on the grid this year, as Murphy is two years older. Craig jokingly says he takes some consolation from that, and also from the fact that Aussie racing legends like Johnson, Brock, Perkins and Bowe were still competitive in their late 40s, while Jim Richards actually won Bathurst as a 51-year-old.

Since the wildcard entry was announced, Craig has been busy preparing for Bathurst, including taking part in three test sessions that are permitted for wildcard entries.

Speaking to JUST CARS after the first test session had been completed, Craig covered several topics, initially sharing his thoughts on Declan, who’ll be making his Supercars debut this October.

“Declan’s a great kid. He’s developing very well,” Craig enthused. “He’s a bit of a sponge at the moment – taking everything on board.

"He's also, on his own initiative, at every Supercars race weekend, learning, which is fantastic. So, to pair up with him, I’m really happy.”

Declan may be an unknown quantity to some, but since joining Triple Eight’s Super2 programme this year, the 21-year-old has been qualifying well and taking podiums before notching his first race win at the NTI Townsville 500 in July, followed by another at Sandown in August. At time of writing, he holds a healthy lead in the Dunlop Super2 Championship.

For Craig, Declan’s race results are just one part of what will make him a formidable co-driver at Bathurst.

“His driving ability will stand for itself, but his attitude and the way he approaches things is remarkable. His feedback and feel on what the car’s doing underneath him is really good and he can understand what he needs.”

Naturally, Declan will be nervous, making his first ever Supercars start in the biggest race of the year, but he won’t be alone on that front.

“I’ll have nerves as well!” Craig laughed. “If you don’t, something’s wrong.”

The wildcard set-up will see Craig and Declan share a garage with Murphy and Stanaway, so in a way, it will re-unite the pairing of Murphy and Lowndes that won Bathurst for the Holden Racing Team back in 1996.

In another reunification of past compatriots, Triple Eight Race Engineering’s former boss, Roland Dane, will serve as Team Manager for the #888 wildcard, with his daughter Jess as deputy and Romy Mayer as Chief Race Engineer.

“Roland’s been taken out of retirement,” Craig laughed. “He’s going to be looking after our side of the garage, which is great. He’s obviously very well respected and understands what we need to get the job done.

“We’ll also have the support of the Red Bull Ampol Racing cars – we’ll share data and keep an eye on what they’re doing.”

Outside of the Danes and Mayer, the rest of the pit crew for car #888 was still to be confirmed at time of writing, but will most likely be drawn from Triple Eight’s Super2 team.

Testing at QR, track time at Sandown . . . and Chevy time

The first test day for Craig and Declan in the Supercheap Auto #888 entry was conducted at Queensland Raceway in late June, but that was more about familiarisation with the car, especially for Declan, who’s never driven the ZB Commodore.

“We’ve done the ergonomics, so that’s a good thing,” Craig explained. “We’re both comfortable and happy in the car, so now we can focus on finessing, speed and development.”

It’s not obvious when viewing the Lowndes/Fraser pairing, but there are some differences in body type between the two, which Craig said will require some seat changes come October.

“We’re the same height, but our body makeup is a little different. Declan’s actually very similar to Mark Skaife – long legs and a short torso – so we have a little seat insert that we fit in, but other than that, the ergonomics are perfect.”

Following that initial test at QR, Craig secured a drive in the Brad Jones Racing #4 SCT Logistics Commodore of Jack Smith at the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint in August.

The wildcards couldn’t test at Sandown, but as Smith had yet to nominate a co-driver for Bathurst, it allowed Craig to pilot the #4 BJR car in the co-driver practice session. It was an unusual situation, for sure, but something of a win-win for both parties – Craig got some extra seat time, while Smith and BJR got some valuable feedback from a vastly experienced driver.  

Craig also cut several laps of Sandown in the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prototype. With their reduced aero compared to the current field, the Gen3 cars have been described by Craig as akin to what he raced 25 years ago, but with more outright speed – and arguably a lot more visual appeal, too!

Looking Forward to Bathurst

This year’s Bathurst will be Craig’s 29th Supercars start at the Mountain and also his 300th Supercars round since debuting in the category in 1996 – that’s the most round starts in the history of the sport. Wins are more memorable than rounds, though, so the seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner will be looking to do much more than just tick off his 300th round start.

“It’s something quite special, to rack up another milestone,” Craig said. “It would be nice to wrap up that milestone with a good result, that’s for sure.”

With a well-prepared car and some of the best people in the business around him in the form of vastly-experienced Triple Eight personnel, Craig’s confident he can be in the mix to achieve his eighth Bathurst win this year.

“I think we’ve got great potential to be on the podium. What step that is, I don’t know. We just need a little bit of luck to go our way over the course of the week – and the race as well.

“We’ve got the equipment to get a great result. We’ve just got to execute it.”

The 2022 Bathurst 1000 is scheduled for 6-9 October. For event details and updates, go to: supercars.com

To follow the progress of Craig, Declan and the #888 Supercheap Auto Commodore, go to: redbullampolracing.com.au