Lowndes shocks Supercars rivals
SUPERCARS veteran Craig Lowndes’s decision to announce his retirement from full-time driving has surprised some of his greatest rivals.
The six-time Bathurst champion announced yesterday before the Townsville 400 the 2018 championship would be his 21st and final season of full-time racing.
The news sparked tributes from across pitlane for the 44year-old, who claimed his 106th career win earlier this year in Tasmania and is fourth in the championship standings.
“Bit of a shock to be honest, given he’s probably having his best year in a while,” Garth Tander said.
“I can understand why. No one works harder than he does away from the track, the sponsor stuff and appearances . . . bit of a shock, but I can certainly understand where he’s coming from.”
Tander, who made his debut two years after Lowndes claimed the championship, in 1996, as a 21-year-old rookie, said he would miss the “only constant” of his Supercars career.
“He smiles a lot out of the car but he’s a dirty bugger out on the racetrack . . . whenever you race with Craig, especially over the last 10 years, we’ve raced really, really hard, but really fair,” he said.
Nissan driver Rick Kelly, who pipped Lowndes to the 2006 championship, hoped Lowndes had not been pres- sured into stepping down from a full-time role with Triple Eight Race Engineering — despite having 18 months to run on his contract.
Kelly believed he and other drivers had a debt to Lowndes for his ability to take motorsport beyond the racetrack.
“He was there when I started, selling his hats out of the HRT merchandise trailer and I couldn’t unbox them as quick as they were selling,” he said.
“It’s a big thing for him, obviously, but it’s a massive thing for the sport.
“If you take him out of the picture, the sport’s a different place . . . we owe a lot to him.”
Long-time teammate Jamie Whincup said Lowndes had played a key mentoring role when he joined Triple Eight in 2006 “knowing nothing”.
“He’s the next Brockie really,” Whincup said, referring to Lowndes’s mentor Peter Brock.
“He’ll be remembered as one of the icons.”