PODIUM THE PLACE TO BE FOR VETERAN
WARREN Luff on Sunday cemented his status as a Bathurst specialist but joked he wouldn’t have been a popular figure had he and teammate Scott Pye pipped Craig Lowndes to the chequered flag.
Emotion surrounded Supercars fan favourite Lowndes’ victory in his last start at the Mountain as a lead driver, clinching his seventh Peter Brock Trophy.
His long-time co-driver Steven Richards scored his fifth Bathurst win in the process, putting him second only to his father Jim on the list of the most successful Kiwis at the Great Race.
After a second straight runners-up placing, Luff laughed he and Pye might have been in for some pain had the result not gone Lowndes’ way.
“If anything had have happened on those last few laps to those guys, I’m pretty sure we would have got stoned on the podium and had bottles thrown at us,” the Gold Coaster grinned.
“Very, very happy for those guys … it’s a great way to see Craig bow out of his full-time career.”
After failing to reach the Bathurst podium in his first 12 attempts, Luff has now scored a top three placing in five of the past seven years – better than any of his peers, lead or co-drivers.
A higher grid placing could go a long way towards an elusive maiden win.
“We have done it the hard way; we started 20th last year and got second, started 18th this year and got second,” Luff said, crediting his team’s strategy and pit stops for aiding their midrace progress. Pye and Luff will team up again for the Gold Coast 600 this month.