Elated Lowndes eyeing Brock’s ninewin Bathurst tally
BATHURST: He might be retiring as a fulltime Supercars driver but Craig Lowndes believes he can still reach Peter Brock’s haul of nine Bathurst 1000 victories after clocking up his seventh in stunning style.
Lowndes was a popular winner at Mount Panorama on Sunday, as he has been since winning his first in 1996.
‘‘I’m delighted. I’m relieved. I’m very thankful and the fans are fantastic,’’ he said.
‘‘I think if the car broke down they would have jumped the fence and pushed it.’’
Lowndes said the victory was particularly memorable given the buildup since he announced his retirement in July.
Yet there is simply no beating the 2006 success, weeks after the death of Brock, his mentor and father figure.
‘‘The ’06 is the special one because of the emotions behind it. But this is right up there. It’s probably the secondbest,’’ he said.
There will be calls for him to stick around for another year. As it stands, the 43yearold will be back as a codriver for either Jamie Whincup or Shane van Gisbergen in 2019.
And in the meantime, he will look at other projects, including a possible drive alongside Richards in the Bathurst 12hour in February.
‘‘Retiring allows me to do other things next year, hopefully overseas. That’s why we made the decision we made.’’
However, as long as Lowndes is around he will be gunning to match Brock’s incredible benchmark, a goal endorsed by team boss Roland Dane.
‘‘Well, Roland actually said I’m good enough for another five years, but I’ve only got a contract for one,’’ he said.
‘‘I should put pen to paper and get those extra four years. It’d be nice to try and get nine, yes.’’
Scott McLaughlin improved his championship position by finishing third, two places ahead of nearest title rival fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen.
That 18second gap was enough to close the Red Bull Holden Racing Team driver’s lead to 19 points as the series heads to the Gold Coast to close the Enduro Cup.
‘‘Our goal this weekend was a solid result, and if we could, to narrow the margin, so overall, good,’’ McLaughlin said.
He easily eclipsed his previous attempts which resulted in finishes of 15th and 17th, and a DNF last year.
But one man no longer in the title race is Jamie Whincup.
The sixtime champion was hanging on to a manageable gap of about 300 points heading into Bathurst,and needed a strong result to keep realistic hopes alive.
An early tyre blowout and eventual 10th place finish put paid to those dreams.
‘‘It’s a bit of a cruel game and we deserve more than that but that’s the game we play,’’ he said.
Supercars championship standings.—
❛ Retiring allows me to do other things next year, hopefully overseas. That’s why we
made the decision we made
Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden) 3276 points, 1; Scott McLaughlin (Ford) 3257, 2; Jamie Whincup (Holden) 2872, 3; Craig Lowndes (Holden) 2787, 4; David Reynolds (Holden) 2567, 5; Chaz Mostert (Ford) 2288, 6; Fabian Coulthard (Ford) 2282, 7; Rick Kelly (Nissan) 2242, 8; Scott Pye (Holden) 2182, 9; Tim Slade (Holden) 1970, 10. — AAP