Craig Lowndes is a huge star of Australian motorsport with his seven Bathurst 1000 wins the banner head achievements of his amazing career.
Now part of the Fox Sports Supercars broadcast team in addition to his endurance race duties with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team, Lowndes has conquered Mount Panorama seven times in the October classic in a range of V8-powered Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons.
However, while all seven of his Bathurst 1000-winning cars safely remain either in the hands of collectors, under restoration or in storage, his Bathurst 12 Hour-winning cars sadly get largely overlooked.
But the good news is that both have survived, albeit with a few bumps and bangs along the way for one of them.
Lowndes has two Bathurst 12 Hour wins, both times at the wheel of Maranello Motorsport Ferraris. In 2014 he teamed up with ex-F1 ace Mika Salo, John Bowe and Maranello co-owner Peter Edwards in a 458 GT3 to win and repeated the dose in a 488 GT3 model in 2017 with Jamie Whincup and factory ace Toni Vilander.
Photos of these Ferraris, plus shots of every other car to compete in the 12 Hour in the last decade (since GT3 regulations were introduced in 2011), are included in a new 320-page hardcover book ‘Bathurst: Going Global’ being put together by long-time 12 Hour commentator Richard Craill and publisher Aaron Noonan that tells the story of the race’s evolution over the last 10 years.
Lowndes held off the charging Mercedes-Benz of German Maximilian Buhk in the closing stages of the 2014 race, a result that really put the race on the map, especially given the close fight watched by a solid TV viewing audience.
“I had to give it (the brake pedal) a couple of pumps going into the Chase, (so I’m) very thankful the time ran out and we didn’t have to do another lap,” Lowndes said at the time of the win.
“I was doing my best, running on the inside lines, making the Merc go around the long way, thankfully we had enough.”
The winning 458 returned to the Mountain the following year though without Lowndes – 2015 was the year Supercars scheduled their pre-season ‘SuperTest’ on the same weekend as the 12 Hour – leaving the ‘14 race-winning Ferrari to be piloted by Salo, Tony D’Alberto and Brit Ben Collins, who had previously been ‘The Stig’ on BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ program.
But D’Alberto biffed the Italian stallion into the wall after a tangle at Forrest’s Elbow in opening practice, sidelining it from the rest of the weekend.
“The 2014 458 GT3 flew to the factory for major works post the D’Alberto shunt in practice,” recalls Maranello Motorsport boss Mark Coffey.
“It’s sitting with the 488 here in the workshop under some nice lights on display and gets worshipped by many people that come in here!
“These days both cars do track days where we use them as a bit of a carrot for the guys that buy Challenge and other GT Ferrari cars for track day purposes.
“We take a bunch of cars to Phillip Island or up to Winton or to The Bend and roar around and the 12 Hour winners add some wow factor to what they’re doing and show what we can do as a company.”
So, what would it take to secure a piece of Ferrari, Bathurst and Lowndes history?
Coffey says they’re not for sale at any price from he and his Maranello business partner Peter Edwards.
“When you consider a new 488 is 625,000 Euro, that’s over a million Australian dollars, so that makes a car with race history over one without it, albeit new, as more valuable.
“When you add in the success it all helps for the credibility of the car – but they’re not for sale.”
Coffey says the 2017-winning 488 GT3 is currently undergoing preparation for its next outing.
“The 488 has had a few GT races since the ’17 12 Hour and we’re hoping to enter a few events this year if the Australian GT Championship gets a credible package together with its television coverage and commercial arrangements that creates a showcase for sponsorship and ignites other aspects of the sport for competitors like us to get their value and come and race.”
No matter their future racing plans, the fact that these pieces of Ferrari, Bathurst and Lowndes racing history remain in the country is a huge win for Aussie motorsport fans.
Source: Fox Sports
Giancarlo Fisichella will make a special appearance in the Australian GT Championship opener at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
The three-time grand prix winner will pilot a Kaspersky-backed Ferrari 488 GT3 run by Melbourne squad Maranello Motorsport at the Albert Park event.
Fisichella is set to partner car owner and Australian GT regular Peter Edwards in the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour winning Ferrari in four 25-minute races which will kick-off the new season.
The 45-year-old Italian has previously enjoyed success at the circuit having won the 2005 Australian Grand Prix from pole position for the factory Renault F1 team after making his F1 debut at the venue in 1996.
Following an F1 career including 229 starts for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari, Fisichella turned his hand to GT racing as a factory Ferrari driver since 2010.
He has since scored two GTE Pro class victories at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2012 and 2014.
“I have participated in many races in different countries around the world, but racing in Australia is always something special for me,” said Fisichella.
“I have great memories of Albert Park, above all the pole position and victory in F1 in 2005.
“I am also really proud to be the brand ambassador of Kaspersky Lab in Australia, which is giving me the great opportunity to race the Ferrari 488 GT3 of Maranello Motorsport.”
Maranello Motorsport boss Mark Coffey is eagerly anticipating the arrival of the factory Ferrari star.
“It is fantastic to have Giancarlo back in town for the Australian GT races in Melbourne,” said Coffey.
“Giancarlo’s world class pedigree, along with his extensive experience of both the Ferrari 488 GT3 race car and the Albert Park circuit will make for a very formidable proposition.
“We are proud and very appreciative to have Kaspersky Lab on board, and look forward to flying the now iconic colour scheme in Melbourne.”
The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix takes place from March 22-25.
Source: Speedcafe.com
Join Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes and sportscar ace Toni Vilander for a wild behind-the-scenes ride as they strive for victory at this year’s Bathurst 12-Hour.
It’s a daunting equation. The 6.2 kilometres of the Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst, Australia’s most famous ribbon of racetrack. And the holy grail of a sub two-minute lap in a red-hot Ferrari 488 GT3. It’s a tough task, but Finnish sportscar ace Toni Vilander had a couple of handy drivers to help him in his quest – Triple Eight Supercars giants Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes.
The trio teamed up for a run at this year’s Bathurst 12-Hour with Maranello Motorsport, with several key members of the Red Bull Holden Racing Team on hand to tackle The Mountain like they’ve never tackled it before. Forget October, 1000km, V8 power and a Holden Commodore they know like the backs of their hands; J-Dub and Lowndesy were at the wheel of a thoroughbred left-hand drive sportscar for a race that starts at dawn and ends just before dusk in February as the Supercars series prepared to awaken from its off-season slumber.
Vilander, Lowndes and Whincup went the distance© VUE Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Lowndes, of course, is an old hand at most things motorsport, and had teamed up with Maranello to win the 12-Hour back in 2014. But for Whincup, endurance racing saw the six-time Supercars champion very much outside of his comfort zone. And when car problems scuppered his plans to bed himself in at a pre-Bathurst test at Phillip Island in January, he knew he’d be under the pump. “I’m going to go into Bathurst massively raw,” he conceded after just six laps behind the wheel, “but that’s OK – I’ll do what I can and do the best job that I can.”
What happened next? History shows that the Vilander-Whincup-Lowndes trio did such a good job that they stood on the top step of the podium after a breathless late-race dice with none other than Triple Eight’s Shane van Gisbergen, driving against his V8 mates in the Scott Taylor Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT. How did they get there? That’s where Ridin’ Shotgun: Chasing 120 comes in.
Join Jamie, Craig and Toni on their journey as they chase the ultimate lap around one of the world’s most revered circuits – and see the tests and tension behind the scenes as stopping the clock at the magical 120-second mark becomes all-consuming.
Written by Matthew Clayton
Source: www.redbull.com/au-en/
Watch highlights from the Top 10 Shootout at the 2017 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.
TONI VILANDER says his amazing late-race stint that saw him blitz the field in yesterday’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was one of the better moments of his entire career.
The 36-year-old Finn’s last stint in the race saw him build a massive lead over the No. 22 STM Mercedes-AMG GT3 – before handing his Maranello Ferrari to Jamie Whincup for the run to the flag – often lapping more than a second quicker than anyone else on the circuit at the time.
The stint was critical to building the track position that would ultimately lead to the bright red Ferrari being in a position to allow Whincup to challenge Jamie Whincup for the lead within the final hour.
“Sometimes you have those days, you have a clear track and just feel really comfortable in the car,” the two-time LeMans 24 Hour class winner explained.
“Even all the traffic seemed like it was dropping in the right places with the right timing. I had clear air with the car and it felt like it was working perfectly. Sometimes when you’re fast it feels like it’s easier so today was definitely one of those days.
“I was fed up with all the stories from Mika Salo that he is the only Finn who can win here so now we are even at least! It is a big thing (to have the success with Ferrari), there are still races for me to win and this was one of them and now it it is done. I am really, really happy and really, really proud – this is a great team. Sometimes when you start the day you have a feeling something good might happen and here we are – winners.”
For his part, six-time Virgin Australia Supercars Champion Whincup said the choice to run new tyres at the end of the race was a clear factor in making sure he could use the Ferrari’s clear pace advantage in the final hour of the race.
“(The final pit stop) was strategic. We had to make a call as to whether we wanted to put tyres on and loose track position or whether we wanted to keep track position on older tyres. So, I made a call at the end there to put some new bags on and it was the right call,” he explained.
“The car had great pace. It was very good down the straight, it wasn’t the quickest down the straight (gesturing to the #12 drivers) these boys beside me were absolute rockets and the Nissan wound it up again at the last five laps.
“All in all it was a massively enjoyable week for us. They are great cars. I couldn’t believe the traffic, I’m not used to so much traffic! It was also very nice that the Skippies kept to the other paddock and didn’t go on the track. It was a long, long day, but I’ll certainly be back.”
Lowndes’ second 12-hour victory adds to his remarkable success story on the Mountain, adding to his six Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 wins and seven additional podiums in the October classic.
Where he anchored Maranello’s 2014 victory by bringing the car to the finish, Lowndes’ played a different role this year by driving for much of the morning – making sure the car remained on the lead lap and in contention for when his teammates climbed in to the car later in the day.
“We rolled the car out and didn’t do much with it over the course of the couple of days. It was a much nicer car than the Ferrari 458 over the top of the mountain for both Jamie and I as far as becoming familiar with the car. We did have a good lead into this weekend and we did have some issues but we rectified that. With Toni putting it on pole yesterday we knew that we had a strong car, we just didn’t know who else was going to be strong for the day,” Lowndes said.
The controversial restart incident that saw the No. 88 car briefly punted into the sand at Meguiar’s turn by the STM Mercedes AMG was Lowndes’ biggest challenge throughout the day.
Quick action from the officials at Murray’s ensured the car remained on the lead lap – critical to ensuring their chance of victory.
“The main objective for me was to stay out of trouble and keep it on the lead lap which I was lucky to do – getting out of the gravel trap,” he said.
“So that for me was the most important – to stay on the lead lap. We knew we had good car pace to come back. It was an enjoyable day to be part of the crew. As Jamie said, there are a lot of 888 guys who have come across from ‘Supercarland’ and it’s really opened their eyes to see what the GT world is all about and also about 12-hour racing. Normally we race in October and it is only six and a half hours, so we’ll come back in October and think it’s a sprint race!”
Maranello’s victory was the second for Ferrari in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, coming three years after their first. The Prancing Horse joins Audi as the only brand to win more than one 12-hour, while Melbourne-based Maranello Motorsport is the only team to have won multiple 12-hours in the GT era.
Though Audi won back-to-back races in 2011-12, the 2011 victory was engineered by Team Joest while the subsequent victory by Phoenix Racing.
Source: bathurst12hour.com.au
