Articles by Craig Lowndes

And so emotional we saw two usually very cool guys show their human side at the awards night on Monday. Retiring V8 Supercars boss Tony Cochrane really was quite emotional when he became the first non-driver to be inducted into the hall of fame. Then our team principal, Roland Dane, got up and made a very impassioned speech. It was that type of year of emotions with the end of the Holden versus Ford era and the 50th anniversary of Bathurst. I was quite happy to have finished the year with a flourish, scoring a first and second at Homebush despite fairly ordinary grid positions and copping a 25-point penalty. It was frustrating to end up second, just over 300 points away from my teammate Jamie Whincup. I put that down to my driver error in turn four at Symmons Plains earlier this year. That put me out of that race and with the cars being so reliable it is almost impossible to make up for even one non-finish. Unfortunately there’s not much chance of carrying my winning momentum through to next year because we have all new cars and two new manufacturers which will put a whole new complexion on the championship. It was very sad to see such a talent as Shane van Gisbergen end his too-short career with two DNFs. It was equally sad to see Greg Murphy possibly end his career in the same way. But our sport is so healthy we have lots of young talent ready to step up. Like David Reynolds who tied for second in the Barry Sheene medal with me. Also, I have to say Scott McLaughlin very much deserves a go in the main game. At just 19, he's emerging as a real future talent. For me, the highlight of the year was Bathurst. Even though we didn’t win, it was an amazing week of motorsport with a huge audience and lots of promotional activity. Having my car decked out in Peter Brock livery was very stirring and then to be able to drive Bev Brock around the mountain was something I will never forget. It quite simply was one of the biggest weeks of my career in motor racing. Next for me is another test in next year’s car, followed by a Christmas break with the kids, then I’m off to France in the new year for the Monte Carlo Classic Rally. It’s been a long season, but before I know it we’ll be back on the starting line for an even longer 2013 season with new circuits and new challenges.  

It’s the last race of the season, which always means it’s time for some racers to get square for incidents during the year. I don’t have anyone to square up, but I’m sure there are a few people out there who bear some grudges.  Maybe some of the drivers who are finishing up like Shane van Gisbergen will have a point to prove as well, so that could lead to some track dramas. I still can’t believe he’s only 23.  He seems to have been around so long. And he still has a lot of good years left in him. It’s also the last race with these cars as we change to the Car of the Future next year, so some people may treat it as a bit of a smash-up derby. I know our cars have already been sold for racing in the development series, so our team principal, Roland Dane, won’t be too pleased if we bring them back bent. I will be quite sad to see these cars go as they have been very good to us, so I’ll certainly be a bit protective of my body panels. But some others will feel they have nothing to lose and go really hard and maybe a bit silly. And then of course there’s the Homebush circuit which is notorious for carnage with a narrow track, no run-off and concrete walls. There’s no doubt there will be plenty of contact. It’s the nature of all street circuits. The format is all hard tyres and two 250km races with a minimum of two pitstops so there will be a fair bit of strategy involved. Most important is to qualify well, get out in front and stay out of the carnage. But I won’t be too upset if I’m not on the front row. My starts have improved a lot this year and I’m sure we can make up positions. There are plenty of passing opportunities on this circuit. You can get a clean pass into turn one and at several places around the back and it’s a 50-50 proposition to pass into turn two. Two hundred and fifty kays is a long way round Homebush and the circuit is quite aggressive and demanding with elevation changes and sharp, unforgiving kerbs. It also gets quite hot and there is a chance of storms which will also play a big part in the strategy. I’m 63 points behind Frosty (Mark Winterbottom), so I’m determined to close that gap and give our team a consecutive 1-2 finish. I can’t remember the last time a team did that. We’ve spent the week so far meeting and greeting old and new sponsors. While it’s sad to see one sponsor go, it's exciting to get on board with Red Bull which will continue our association with an F1 team at Melbourne and Abu Dhabi. It’s always good for our engineers to mix with engineers from the pinnacle of motorsport. They also sponsor Casey Stoner so if he does decide to take up Roland’s offer of a car in the development series, it will be a good mix. We’re still just waiting on Casey to make a decision.  

It makes for exciting racing for both the drivers and the fans. As we’re getting more experience with the soft tyres we are getting more life out of them. I don’t think the quality of the tyres is any better but teams now know how to set the car up for them and we as drivers are learning how to conserve their wear. However, with the new cars next year on 18-inch wheels, we will go back to square one with regards to set-up. When you have a combination of hard and soft tyres in a race, teams have different strategies so you get a lot of speed differential out on the track which means loads of passing. We didn’t start the weekend off well struggling to get the car to 15th on the grid for the first race. I was sitting there on the grid thinking I have nothing to lose so I put everything into it. We had a great start and made up four spots by turn three only to have Jason Bright turn around in front of us and lose some of that advantage. We went into race with the strategy that if there was an early safety car we would do what we did in Darwin and turn it into a two-stop race and get on that set of soft tyres as soon as possible. My race engineer, JJ (Jeromy Moore), did a fantastic job considering the position we started in. Jamie was always the guy to beat, but we fought hard to claim second. Once we had Saturday out of the way, we were more confident in the car and put a decent lap together for qualifying which gave us fourth on the grid. Again Jamie was the one to beat and we would have been second had he not had that unfortunate drive-through penalty for turning his wheels while up on jacks in the pits. He didn’t celebrate after mathematically securing the championship with more than a 300-point lead. He’s still pretty focused on the final at Homebush and won’t celebrate until the job is done and dusted. It was a shame to hear the news this week that we might be losing a couple of Kiwis next year. Shane Van Gisbergen is one of the characters of the sport and we need the next generation of drivers coming through. If he does quit, he will be going home with unfinished business. At the other end of the game is Greg Murphy who appears to be out of a drive for next year. However, I wouldn’t write him off yet. He’s still a talented driver in the right car and he was in this exact same position this time last year. Murph has contributed a lot to the sport over the years and it would be a sad day if he left. However, he’s colourful and opinionated and if the rumours are true it would be great to see him annoying Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton in the media centre.  

He has a healthy 298-point lead over Frosty and just needs a consistent run at Winton this weekend to seal the deal. Seeing how competitive everyone is this season, it is really difficult to peg back points.Even if Jamie has a DNF (did not finish) at any stage in the next four races all it will do is give Frosty and me a false glimmer of hope. There are not many times he’s had two bad races in the one weekend.For me, it’s all about getting second place back from Frosty so the team can claim consecutive one-two finishes for the season. I’m pretty confident of being able to peg back the points at Winton this weekend. It’s always been a good hunting ground for me as it’s my old stomping ground.I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve raced and tested there in all sorts of race cars. Hopefully that means I have some sort of home ground advantage. It’s another circuit that I enjoy. You don’t hit the high speeds of most other circuits and don’t even use top gear, but it’s a track I know extremely well in different categories so I’m hoping it will be a good round.The format for this weekend is back to a mixed tyre round. We have to use hards and softs during both races - a  140km race on the Saturday and a 200km race on the Sunday. Hopefully we can get back on form after a couple of substandard rounds that have sabotaged our championship aspirations. It would be good to finish the year with some good results.Then it’s on to Homebush where we had a fantastic round last year and almost got the championship. I’ve already got my eyes on the prize next year with the new race cars and the introduction of Nissan and Mercedes to the category. We tested our 2013 Car of the Future last week at Queensland Raceway and we’re well on track. I only did the first half of the day as I had to shoot off to Adelaide for a Clipsal promotion while Jamie did the rest. It was quite hot out there so the times weren’t fantastic but we made some progress with lots of things on the car. That was our second and last “manufacturers test day”. The next time we take it out it will be as part of our test bank for the 2013 season, so things are getting serious. 

Casey has not yet signed anything with anyone, but going on his bitter Twitter exchange with Mark Winterbottom last weekend, I can see he's getting really passionate about this sport. I think he said something about some amateur driving by “Frosty” and Mark bit back. That should fuel some competitive racing in the future between the two if they ever get on track together. Hopefully we can learn from the Abu Dhabi weekend and make the racing a little more interesting next year. The problem is that we share with Formula One over the weekend and are constrained in the number of practice and qualifying sessions. But we are the only support category over the whole weekend and there is a lot of dead track time so surely they can find some more track time for us in 2013. The three 12-lap sprint races were also too short. Our fans are used to longer and more strategic racing. Longer races also would have introduced the factor of tyre degradation which throws up some interesting racing. And while I loved finally getting a chance to drive the full-length F1 circuit, I could see even from where I sat that it was boring for the fans. With the long straight and fast-flowing corners the field very quickly gets spread out. Perhaps we should mix it up with some racing on the long circuit and some on the truncated track. We struggled with our car set-up early and ran out of time in the practice sessions to make inroads. And with limited qualifying, we were stuck back in the grid where it's difficult to make up ground on such short races. We actually improved the car after the first race, but there was nothing we could do from that far back on the grid. The good news for us over the weekend was my starts. We had three great starts thanks to a new format we've been working on. I hopped on a plane straight after the F1 race and was in Melbourne for the Cup. I'm not really into horse racing and didn't have a bet. But if I had, I would have gone for one of the favourites and done my money, so just as well I didn't.  

...and make the racing a little more interesting next year. The problem is that we share with Formula One over the weekend and are constrained in the number of practice and qualifying sessions. But we’re the only support category over the whole weekend and there is a lot of dead track time so surely they can find some more track time for us in 2013.The three 12-lap sprint races were also too short. Our fans are used to longer and more strategic racing. Longer races also would have introduced the factor of tyre degradation which throws up some interesting racing.And while I loved finally getting a chance to drive the full-length F1 circuit, I could see even from where I sat that it was boring for the fans. With the long straight and fast-flowing corners the field very quickly gets spread out.Perhaps we should mix it up with some racing on the long circuit and some on the truncated track. We struggled with car set-up early and ran out of time in the practice sessions to make inroads. And with limited qualifying we were stuck back in the grid where it’s difficult to make up ground on such short races.We actually improved the car after the first race, but there was nothing we could do from that far back in the grid. The good news for us over the weekend was my starts. We had three great starts thanks to a new format we’ve been working on.Our starting sequence is now a lot more familiar and repeatable, so that’s something that will help us for the rest of the season and next year. I hopped on a plane straight after the F1 race and was in Melbourne for the Cup. I’m not really into horse racing and didn’t have a bet. But if I had, I would have gone for one of the favourites and done my money, so just as well I didn’t. If I were a betting man, though, I’d put my money on Casey Stoner driving in the development series next year.He’s not yet signed anything with anyone, but from his bitter Twitter exchange with Frosty over the weekend, I can see he’s getting really passionate about this sport. I think he said something about some amateur driving by Frosty and Mark bit back. That should fuel some competitive racing in the future between the two if they ever get on track together. 

This will be the first time we have driven on the full F1 circuit so I’m really looking forward to that. However, it means the technical data we gathered from the two previous years is not a lot of use to us. Tyre wear, fuel economy and car set-up will all be different, so we start with a clean slate. It also means that results from the past two years won’t mean much. In 2010, I had a pole and a second place, but had some major gearbox dramas last year. I love the circuit and I’m really looking forward to discovering the best lines around the rest of the track. The longer track should add about 15 seconds to the lap. There is also a 1.2km straight from a hairpin so you need good traction to get a good launch on to the straight. It’s also a very different format this year. In qualifying your three fastest laps will determine your grid positions. Then there will be three 12-lap races with no pit stops whatsoever which will make it very interesting to say the least. Almost like MotoGP races. The first race will be on hard tyres and the others are soft. Races are also in the heat of the day instead of the night and at a hotter time of the year than when we’ve been there before so we can expect quite a bit of drop off in grip. Fans will have to check their TV guides, because the new race times will mean they will have to broadcast a fair bit on 7 Mate with the last race replayed on Monday afternoon. It’s not ideal for the fans, but I now the diehards will probably live stream it on their computers. As I said last week, my tilt at the title has basically ended, but I will be pressing Frosty hard this weekend to gain back second place.  

I’m third and 245 points behind Jamie Whincup so mathematically it is still possible, but realistically it’s over for 2012. The problem for me is the consistency of Jamie and the reliability of today’s race cars. Back in the third round in April in Tassie, I had my incident with Will Davison that put us out of the points. Because of the other drivers’ consistency and car reliability, it’s taken me all year to claw my way back into contention.Now with just three rounds to go, there is simply not enough time left. But as I said before, so long as I have a wheel in my hands and four on the ground, I will keep fighting. For me, the fight is for second place with Frosty.Last weekend’s round at Surfers Paradise was plagued by the starting line crashes on Saturday. They marred an otherwise perfect weekend of spectacular racing for the fans. As I’ve said before, these cars are really difficult to get off the line and most of the international drivers have no experience at all in stationary starts.They are very experienced and highly skilled drivers, but this type of start is completely foreign to them. However, some of the drivers are so talented they overcame their lack of experience with stationary starts to do really well.For example, my co-driver, Richard Lyons, performed four starts over the weekend and on each one he made up positions. Maybe it’s time we caught up with the rest of the world and had rolling starts; at least at street circuits where the track is really narrow and there is no run-off.Rolling starts are just as exciting as stationary starts and they have their own difficulties and techniques. I did a rolling start at Phillip Island with the Audi this year and it took me back to my go-kart days. I wasn’t surprised that there were more stalled cars on the second and third starts because the clutch heats up and makes it even more difficult to get it off the line.Apart from annoying the fans with delays over the two red-flagged starts, it also spelt disaster for Garry Rogers Motorsport with both of their cars out for the day. This highlights the problem with Abu Dhabi as the next round because the cars have to be on the transport plane so soon.Often teams have major repairs after a street circuit so it is a nightmare if the next round is overseas. Next year it’s an even tighter turnaround as the Surfers Paradise event has been moved back and we have to be in Abu Dhabi the following weekend.That’s if the Queensland Government doesn’t pull out its support for the race altogether. I’m going to the MotoGP this weekend to see Casey Stoner race in his last two-wheeled event on Phillip Island. Hopefully he can finish with a win and the next time he’s back there he has four wheels under him. 

But instead of our normal co-drivers we have internationals. I would love to be driving with Warren Luff who was my co-driver at Sandown and Bathurst where he didn’t put a wheel wrong.He drove within his and the car’s limits at all times and has the same feel for the car as I do. It would be great to have Luffy at Surfers Paradise, but now the focus is on getting my co-driver Richard Lyons up to speed as quickly as we can.The main thrust is for him to bring the car home in one piece. This place is lethal if you put a wheel wrong. It will cut you up and spit you out with those concrete barriers just ready to slice and dice a wayward car.Going into Surfers Paradise, Jamie and I are the ones with momentum in the championship. I may be 160-odd points adrift but so long as I still have four wheels and a steering wheel I’ll push ahead and give it my all.With Frosty just a handful of points behind me I would not discount him, especially on the streets of Surfers Paradise where he won last year, but I think it’s game over for Will Davison. He is unfortunately heading in the wrong direction from a great start to the year and it’s going to be difficult for him to turn that around.I know how hard it has been trying to close down the deficit since Tasmania so I think he has a very slim chance of getting back into contention with only five rounds to go. That’s got me thinking about the end of the season and the end of the Holden V Ford era.With only five rounds to go that exclusive era of two brands will soon be over and that’s sad. I am looking forward to having the Nissans and Mercedes on the track with us in 2013 and Bathurst will definitely have a whole new flavour next season.I don’t believe there will be another brand in the line-up by next year’s Bathurst as the teams have just about got themselves sorted out for 2013. But if they do, my tips would be Audi and BMW. It would certainly enhance and strengthen our category. 

I know, I said the same thing this time last year after Bathurst. Then I was catching Garth Tander with better tyres and more speed, but ran out of laps to pass him.This time the two lead drivers were running on fumes at the end while I had enough in the tank to run on full power and probably could have caught and passed them with one more lap.But “could have” doesn’t win races. Still, we are delighted with third place considering the issues we had to overcome throughout the day -- such as car handling, tyres and the incredibly frustrating issue of double stacking in the pits.You don’t lose a lot of time when you are stacked, but you lose valuable track position and then you spend the next session trying to get back to where you were. We played catch-up all day. In the end the car balance in the last run was sensational.The track came to us and I was able to push the tyres for that whole run. We didn’t have any of the issues most teams had early in the day with tyres. We think that may have been caused by running the left wheels over the kerbs at Griffins Bend, Skyline and maybe the Chase.Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell did a sensational job, but I think everyone acknowledges that the drive of the day went to David Reynolds and Dean Canto. It was also the drive of their careers so far. Dave has been showing great pace in qualifying all year but hasn’t been able to get a good race car balance and has had some bad luck.I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of him on the podium in the future.There is talk about relaxing the rules on co-drivers which would allow Jamie and me to team up again. I think it’s a great idea to have that flexibility, but it would be mad for us if Jamie and I were challenging each other for the title again. However, teams that are outside of the championship race could put their best drivers together and make a big impact at Bathurst and salvage something out of the year. For us, the Bathurst result means we leapfrog Frosty into second and are now within striking distance of the title.