LOWNDES LEADS 12 HOUR SQUAD RACING FOR CHARITY

Three-time Supercars champion Craig Lowndes will spearhead a team with a special cause at the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Lowndes, who has won the event two times previously, will compete alongside Alex Davison, Geoff Emery and Scott Taylor to raise funds and awareness for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) next weekend, dedicating their entry to the cause.

The team will pilot a Scott Taylor Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car adorned entirely in a PCFA livery, their entry supported by Ashley Seward Motorsport.

Both Lowndes and Davison have been personally impacted by Prostate Cancer in their lives, Davison’s father Richard has battled the illness while Lowndes has been a long-time supporter of the foundation since the diagnoses in his family.

There is an abundance of driving talent in the squad – Lowndes has won the Bathurst 1000 seven times and is a household name of Australian motorsport, while Davison is a former Porsche factory driver and a Carrera Cup Australia champion.

Emery is coming off a 2021 season in which he finished runner up in the ProAm class of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and Taylor has experienced spanning several categories.

PCFA will be the official charity partner of the Bathurst 12 Hour for the first time in 2022, hosting activations at Mount Panorama and stationing donation points around the circuit.

Lowndes said he was looking forward to supporting the PCFA on track at Bathurst.

“My family has a strong history of Prostate Cancer so it is an issue that has always been close to my heart,” Lowndes said.

“I have had a long relationship with the Foundation and their efforts to raise awareness about the disease. It can be a taboo subject for many men and it is important to talk about it and go and get checked. Hopefully what we are doing this year will encourage people to go and do just that.

“When this opportunity was presented, I couldn’t get behind it quick enough – it’s like the ideal weekend; a chance to raise funds and awareness for a really important cause, but also spend a weekend at Bathurst in a Porsche! It wasn’t hard to say yes.

“We’re all really excited about getting to the track. We’re going there to have a great time and really enjoy the whole race and everything around it.”

Supercars CEO Shane Howard was proud to have the PCFA as the events charitable partner.

“The Bathurst 12 Hour is proud to be associated with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia as our official charitable partner for 2022,” Howard said.

“It is an important cause that men need to be aware of, to know their risks of prostate cancer and talk to a GP about having a PSA blood test. The 12-Hour is a platform that can spread that word far and wide, to the many thousands of people attending the event in person, or the millions watching the broadcast in Australia, New Zealand and around the world.

“We hope to make a significant impact on the foundation’s fundraising efforts and raise awareness among Bathurst 12 Hour fans in the process.”

Around 18,000 Australian men are diagnosed each year with prostate cancer, and over 3300 will die from the disease.

PCFA CEO Anne Savage believed the 12 Hour would build awareness of Australia’s most common male cancer.

“This partnership puts us in pole position to help close the distance between awareness and action on prostate cancer in Australia,” Savage said.

“Two in every three Australian men diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer will die within five years of being diagnosed, but if we can detect prostate cancer before it spreads, we can beat it.

“Having the support of Craig Lowndes and the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour will enable us to get the message out to men – they need to know their family history and talk to their GP about PSA testing.”

The Bathurst 12 Hour will take place from May 13-15.

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