LOWNDES AND FRASER CONFIRMED FOR BATHURST WILDCARD
Supercars icon Craig Lowndes will team up with Super2 up and comer Declan Fraser in the Supercheap Auto-backed Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard for this year’s Bathurst 1000.
Announced at a media event in Brisbane, Lowndes will make his 29th Bathurst 1000 start in 2022, while at the opposite end of the experience scale Fraser will be on debut in the Great Race at Mount Panorama.
Despite having retired from full-time Supercars competition in 2018, Lowndes will bring plenty of presence to Bathurst having won the 1000 seven times.
Fraser has scored two podiums in the second-tier Super2 Series this year, underlining his credentials as a potential future Supercars star.
The Supercheap Auto wildcard will run with #888 and a to-be-revealed race livery. The current livery will remain for the team’s upcoming test days.
Craig Lowndes will team up with rookie Declan Fraser this year at Bathurst
Ahead of the 2022 Bathurst 1000 on October 9, Lowndes expressed his excitement to be taking on the Mountain again with Fraser.
“I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Declan for the Great Race, and I’m so excited to guide him on his journey into the Supercars,” Lowndes said.
“I’m also thrilled to be representing Supercheap Auto at the mountain for the first time in my career. It will feel a little strange not being in a Red Bull Ampol car for the first time in a long time, but we’re all one team here at Triple Eight.”
“It’s no secret the affinity I have with Bathurst and Mt Panorama, it’s the racetrack that means more to me than any other place.
“I also think we’re going to be a competitive pairing. Declan has shown some great speed and composure in his Super2 career – two traits you need to win Bathurst. We have every intention of being right in the mix and giving the fans something to cheer about.”
Fraser was equally thrilled to be selected for a drive in the Bathurst 1000, especially in a pairing with one of his childhood heroes.
“I grew up watching Lowndesy at Bathurst like every other kid did, so to see my name on the side of this car alongside his heading to Bathurst is super special, surreal even. I’m excited to get everything underway and see how it all pans out,” Fraser said.
“To be associated with such a massive brand in Supercheap Auto, and for them to back me when they had a lot of drivers to choose from is an amazing feeling. I can’t thank them enough for enabling me to kick-start my career in Supercars in a pretty big way.
“My aim is to hone my skills over the next few months to make sure I’m fully prepared by the time I get to Bathurst. We get a couple of extra test days being a wildcard entry which will be good for myself to get familiar with the ZB Commodore, but at the moment there’s still a few Super2 rounds that I need to focus on.
“I also want to thank my family, my partners past and present, and the entire team at Triple Eight. This is an amazing opportunity that’s been presented to me, and I’m going to grab it with both hands.”
Supercheap Auto Managing Director Benjamin Ward was proud of the driver pairing assembled for this year’s event, after Russell Ingall and Broc Feeney represented the brand in 2021.
“To have a legend of the sport like Craig representing our brand this October will be a dream come true for all of us here at Supercheap Auto,” he said.
“Craig’s partnership with an up-and-comer like Declan, at the infamous Mount Panorama circuit, is the ideal storyline for our wildcard program which continues the theme of pairing youth with experience.”
“We hope fans get behind Lowndesy and Declan and follow us on this journey to the Great Race.”
The Bathurst 1000 event will be the only two-driver endurance event in the 2022 Supercars Championship and will take place from October 6-9.
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