Lowndes’s reminder that class is permanent
Coaches set to reveal all
CRAIG Lowndes wound back the clock to upstage generation next yesterday and claim his first Supercars race win since 2016.
In a performance that rubbished suggestions the V8 legend was a fading force, Lowndes, 44, led from start to finish in an emphatic victory in the second race of the Tasmanian SuperSprint at Symmons Plains near Launceston.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering star held off Ford’s Scott McLaughlin and Holden’s Jamie Whincup to record his 106th career win.
“I am more relieved because we have been working so hard as a team towards this,’’ Lowndes said.
“We have been improving and we have been strong all weekend. It is the first one for a while and it is quite exciting.
“It shows we can bounce back. It has been a long time coming and I can’t thank the team enough.’’
It was another day of domination for Triple Eight, with Red Bull’s Whincup continuing his charge into the championship lead.
Following a first-round fail, Whincup needed only six races to claw his way back from a 198-point deficit to go from 18th to first in the title fight.
“Hey, today is all about Lowndesy,’’ Whincup said. “What an effort and it is great to see him win.”
Lowndes surprised the field earlier to score his first qualifying win since 2015 when he upstaged his Triple Eight teammates to score pole.
Having struggled for singlelap speed for the past three years, the veteran edged out van Gisbergen and Whincup. AUSTRALIAN cycling great Anna Meares and former All Blacks coach Graham Henry will be among the guests at the Global Coaches House 2018 beginning at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus today.
The five-day event brings together sport coaches from around the world for a week of development, education and shared knowledge.
Henry will deliver a keynote address from 9-10am, while Meares joins hockey duo Alyson Annan and Ric Charlesworth as a speaker.