Home » Sports » V8 Supercar Racing » Lowndes Triumphs in Queensland

Lowndes Triumphs in Queensland

© Philip Northeast

Craig Lowndes win in the Queensland 300 signalled that 888 racing are now a serious force in Australian V8 Supercar racing. For the first time since his move from Holden to Ford, Lowndes finally has a Ford team capable of preparing a consistent front running Falcon.

Marcos Ambrose won another pole but the presence of Lowndes along side the Pirtek Falcon on the front row demonstrated the pace of the Betta Electrical Falcon. The race proved to be uneventful at the front as Ambrose predictably took the lead from pole position and lead from Lowndes. A safety car period on lap 13 saw both leaders pit for their compulsory tyre stop. Lowndes gained the advantage by taking only two tyres, while Ambrose took four tyres. "The car was very consistent throughout the whole race. When we made the tyre stop the track changed. It got quite slippery, but the car was terrific," Lowndes said.

Even with the advantage of all new tyres for Ambrose the changed tracked conditions favoured Lowndes and the 888 Racing Falcon pulled away from the Pirtek Falcon. This gave Lowndes his first clear round win for the series and underlines the improvement the team has made. " We've had a few slip-ups in the first half of the year, but I'm sure today's performance is a true indication of things to come, " Lowndes said.

Ambrose confirmed Lowndes opinion about the track conditions changing and admitted that Stone Brothers team had not quite got it right on the day. "Craig's car was terrific, especially after we changed tyres. The track really did change and we didn't quite have the right set-up for that," Ambrose said.

While disappointed that he did not win the race Ambrose revealed that while raced wins are nice winning his third championship before he tries to break into NASCAR next year is more important. "The decision to go for four tyres was a championship team decision. It was still a long way to go in the race and having four fresh tyres was the best option. I don't think it would have mattered if we got out in front of Craig, he simply had the better car at the end of the day, " Ambrose said.

The spectacular action for the weekend took place back in the pack. Exiting th turn after the long back straight Paul Morris's car touched the back corner of Jason Richards' car, spinning it around an onto a kerb on the side of the track. This kerb I spart the way down the straight and is the inside part of a shorter track corner. Because of the angle Richards' car hit the kerb at it got launched into the air, completing several mid air rolls. The car looked to be severely damaged but the safety features worked as planned and Richards emerged shaken but without any serious injury.

The copyright of the article Lowndes Triumphs in Queensland in V8 Supercar Racing is owned by Philip Northeast. Permission to republish Lowndes Triumphs in Queensland in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.