Lowndes and Murray encouraged by strong start
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 11 October 2024
Craig Lowndes and Cooper Murray carry confidence into qualifying day at Bathurst after finishing Thursday on the front foot.
Wildcard Murray was one of the stars of the co-driver’s only practice session, recording the second fastest time of a 2:07.5158.
It was just 0.0370s away from four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jamie Whincup.
Murray admitted he feels a lot more comfortable behind the wheel of the Gen3 Camaro Supercar rather than the Gen2 ZB he drives for Eggleston Motorsport in Super2.
“To come away with 2nd in this second practice is pretty good, but it’s only Thursday, and the big prize gets given away Sunday,” Murray said.
“Hopefully, we can improve the car and get a good result. It does feel pretty special. I’ve got the boss (Jamie Whincup) right next to me, Craig Lowndes on the other side.
“I feel a lot more confident jumping in the Gen 3 car compared to the Gen 2, Super2 car.
“That’s what I feel happier in, behind the wheel of the Gen 3, and I’m really enjoying driving this Supercheap Auto Camaro.”
Veteran Lowndes is gearing up for his 31st straight Bathurst 1000 and third in the Supercheap Auto wildcard.
After a strong fifth at Sandown, Lowndes believes the team is in a good spot to at least match that result this weekend, especially after a massive shift up the order from practice 1.
In the opening session of the weekend both Lowndes and Murray drove the #888, but ended up last, 2.4s off the pace and half a second away from the next slowest car.
“It’s a great turnaround for us. To be honest, Practice 1 wasn’t that great for us, but we did a lot of work,” Lowndes said.
“We know what the Red Bull Ampol Racing guys are doing and to be honest, you’ve still got to do a lap around here, and Cooper did a great job. There’s no doubt about that.
“To turn the car around and to have the confidence to go across the top of the mountain like that was really impressive. So, I think we’ve got a great shot this weekend.
“It’s a great start. We’re all sort of saying the same thing.
“We’re all sort of getting the cars set up for the track with the conditions of the circuit right now, but I think there’s no doubt that we’ll have to chase the track over the next couple of days.”
2024 Bathurst 1000
Practice 1: 1: Matt Payne 2:07.2941 2: Cameron Waters +0.0366 3: Will Brown +0.0373
Practice 2: 1: J. Whincup 2:07.4788 2: C. Murray +0.0370 3: J. Ojeda +0.1860
Practice 3: Fri 10.05-11.05 (all drivers)
Practice 4: Fri 13.05-14.05 (all drivers)
Qualifying: Fri 16.15-16.55
Practice 5: Sat 10.05-11.05 (co drivers)
Practice 6: Sat 13.05-14.05 (all drivers)
Top 10 Shootout: Sat 17.05
Warm up: Sun 8.15-8.35
Bathurst 1000: Sun 11.30 (161 laps)
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