The band may be back together but Craig Lowndes has confirmed he will be playing second fiddle to Holden co-driver Jamie Whincup at this weekend’s Bathurst 1000.
Fan favourite Lowndes looked impressive in his long awaited return since retiring from full-time racing at the end of the 2018 season, clocking a top 10 time at Thursday practice in his first stint as an endurance round co-driver at Mount Panorama.
The pair appeared to seamlessly pick up where they left off after last combining to win three straight Bathurst titles from 2006.
Whincup ended the opening practice day by finishing second fastest overall, just 0.15 of a second behind Ford’s Scott McLaughlin who set a new lap record (two minutes, 03.77 seconds).
As impressive as Whincup was, Lowndes’ smooth transition led to speculation his four-time Bathurst winning teammate may let him steer their Commodore home in Sunday’s Great Race.
Certainly Lowndes knows his way to the finish line after claiming his seventh Bathurst title last year, putting him equal second on the all-time Mount Panorama winners list behind only his idol Peter Brock who claimed an incredible nine victories.
But Lowndes quickly squashed speculation seven-time series champion Whincup would be handing the steering wheel over to him when push came to shove on Sunday.
« Unless he breaks his foot I think we all know who is going to close Sunday’s race out, » Lowndes said.
« It’s a reverse to when we raced from 2006-08. But I am enjoying the role of supporting Jamie.
« We are just in different roles. Then again by 2008 Jamie qualified the car and we shared responsibility – it was great, it is the same as this weekend. »
Whincup said it felt good to be reunited with Lowndes but made it clear who now held seniority in their Red Bull Racing Team.
Asked if he would be comfortable handing the wheel over to Lowndes at the business end at Bathurst, Whincup said: « Yeah, in the qualifying (top 10) shootout (on Saturday), I am not greedy.
« I just want the best result for our team so we will put the best person in at the right time. »
Not that Whincup had any complaints about being teamed up with Lowndes again.
« It is not like we will pull out a book on how we were successful here in the past, it has changed so much, » Whincup said of their past success together.
« But in many ways it is a new beginning. It is like we have got the band back together.
« It would be a good story if we did something – fingers crossed something good happens. »
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/27818239/lowndes-happy-support-whincup
