LOWNDES RETIRES FROM FULL-TIME DRIVING

Craig Lowndes has announced his full-time retirement

Multiple Australian Touring Car Championship and Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes has announced his retirement from full-time driving at the end of this year’s Supercars Championship season.

Despite having a contract into 2019 with Triple Eight Race Engineering, Lowndes has decided mutually with team boss Roland Dane to step aside.

Lowndes has started this season in strong form after a win in Tasmania and a further three podium finishes, but said his desire to finish with top results was a key reason behind the decision.

“I’ve always said there are two key factors keeping me racing and those are my motivation to keep getting up and doing what I love and my competitiveness, and for me, nothing has changed,” Lowndes said.

“But at the same time I want to make sure I finish my last full-time season with some strong results in the bag and after this year’s results so far Roland and I came to the decision between us that this will be my last full season behind the wheel.”

A win in Symmons Plains has been one of many highlights for Lowndes so far this season.

Lowndes will continue as co-driver of one of the Triple Eight entries for the 2019 Pirtek Enduro Cup as well as maintain a team ambassador role. It ends a 13-year full-time career with Triple Eight that has yielded the runner up spot six times and third twice, whilst a championship remains elusive for the partnership. As a full-time driver at Triple Eight he took victory at Bathurst five times.

Adding to his enduro commitments he will join Supercars TV as a reporter over the course of the season.

“I definitely won’t be pursuing a drive with any other teams in Supercars,” Lowndes reaffirmed.

“I’ll be staying with Triple Eight and I’m looking forward to an exciting new chapter as an ambassador for the team and of course co‑driving with Triple Eight in the enduros.”

I’m also pleased to announce that I’ll be joining the broadcast team, which is something I’m really looking forward to. It’s not the last time you’ll see this grin in pit lane.”

The lure to race overseas is another reason behind the decision.

“I’ve also always said I’d love to go and do more racing overseas and in different categories. Le Mans is definitely on the bucket list and hopefully this will enable me to go and do that, which Roland and the team will be supportive of.”

Lowndes debuted full-time in the championship in 1996 driving with the Holden Racing Team and promptly took the title, which was followed by a season in Europe driving in F3000 driving for the RSM Marko Team alongside Juan-Pablo Montoya.

He returned to Australia in 1998 with the Holden Racing Team in what was a golden period for the team, which won five titles on the trot with Lowndes (98,99) and Mark Skaife. A shock move to Ford was ill-fated as Gibson Motorsport then a move to Ford Performance Racing failed to yield the desired results before he joined Triple Eight at the close of the 2004 season.

Opening Practice at Townsville is currently underway.

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