LAST LAPS FOR LEGEND OF MOTORSPORT
NORTH Queensland Supercars fans have extra incentive to get along to the Townsville 400 as Craig Lowndes farewells the track.
The three- time Supercars champion and six- time Bathurst 1000 winner announced his retirement from full- time racing ahead of practice rounds in Townsville yesterday.
Lowndes has been a crowd favourite throughout a career that has spanned more than two decades. Before his retirement announcement race fans like Home Hill mother Kirsty Jeffery were praising the Triple Eight Race Engineering driver.
“We all have our favourite drivers and mine is Craig Lowndes,” Mrs Jeffrey said.
Once word spread across the track that Lowndes was retiring, the appreciation and admiration for his career spread like wildfire.
He was clapped and cheered several times as he made appearances among race goers.
Stuart Raison and his young sons Sam, 7, and Wil, 11, queued for more than an hour to be first in line at an autograph signing session with Lowndes.
“I think I knew his retirement was coming but it’s a shame because he’s such a talented driver,” Mr Raison said. “I’ll always remember his Bathurst win with Murph in ’ 96 and the pass on John Bowe in 1994 up the hill when he missed his braking marker and just went past and hung on to make the corner.
“He’s just very friendly. Even when he’s had a bad day there’s a smile on his face. He doesn’t sook, he just gets on with the job.”