The TeamVodafone driver was a pacesetter all weekend and looked certain to challenge for victory from as early as Friday.

Craig dominated Friday practice, clearly setting the quickest time, and his pace carried into qualifying for Race 1. He easily made the top 10 shootout and produced arguably his best shootout lap of the year to line up in fifth position.

In the race he moved forward steadily and utilised a late pit-stop strategy to charge through to second place, on fresher tyres, by the finish.

On Sunday Craig continued to shine and impressed again in qualifying to start Race 2 from fourth position. In the longer 200km race he had an even stronger showing and used a clever strategy to maximise the safety car interruptions. Despite finding himself in the lead with only a handful of laps to go, Craig was unable to hold off James Courtney, but finished a clear second.

“It was a great weekend for us and I’m really happy with how much more confident I’m feeling in the car now,” Craig said.

“We didn’t quite have the pace of James here this weekend and congratulations must go to those guys, but two second place finishes are a great result for me and the team.

“I struggled slightly with consistency at the start of the year, so the last two rounds are just what I needed and it really brings us back into the championship hunt heading to Darwin.”

FRIDAY
On Friday Craig proved that his recent speed at Winton Motor Raceway was genuine, by finishing the day fastest.

The #888 TeamVodafone driver used the first practice session and much of Practice 2 to work on a suitable race set-up, before setting some blisteringly quick laps towards the end.

Craig finished the day over one tenth of a second clear of Shane van Gisbergen and Rick Kelly in the perfect start to the weekend.

"It's nice to be in this position at the moment but it is still early in the weekend," Craig said.

"We learnt a lot from running the soft tyres at Queensland Raceway. Firstly getting the right balance in the race setup and secondly getting a heat cycle into the tyres.

"We ran two sets of the softs over a flying lap today and I definitely think we are 90% there with our qualifying setup, which gives us great confidence ahead of tomorrow.”

SATURDAY
Saturday’s 20-minute qualifying session was a closely fought affair, but Craig showed that his Friday speed not a one-off, by easily making it into the top 10.

He produced a number of quick laps and never looked in doubt of making the shootout for the second time in as many rounds.

In the shootout Craig produced a relatively clean lap to ensure a solid starting position for the race. In the end his lap was good enough for fifth place, making up four positions from qualifying.

In the race, Craig used his experience and ability to look after the soft tyres to his advantage and was the last of the front-runners to pit.

Despite losing time on the soft tyre towards the end of his stint, Craig was able to charge through the field towards races’ end, to finish agonisingly short of race winner James Courtney.

Craig was second, ahead of teammate Jamie Whincup, and the result moved him into third position in the championship race.

“I had a bit of luck off the start and managed to avoid any major contact,” Craig said.

“The car balance wasn’t ideal so we made a rear roll centre adjustment during the pitstop and it transformed the car.

“After the stop I had better tyres and car speed than those in front of me but I had to be patient in passing them.

“I made my way up to second and pushed hard to close the gap to James but ran out of tyre life and laps. I am looking forward to seeing what speed we have for qualifying tomorrow.”

SUNDAY
Craig continued to set impressive lap times during Sunday’s all-in 20 minute qualifying session and guaranteed himself another solid starting position for the race.

He used a late quick lap to jump to third position, but was relegated to fourth in the dying seconds, to secure a second row starting position for the 67-lap race.

Craig started well and ran easily in the top three for the first period of the race, before a superior strategy saw him emerge from the first round of pit-stops well in the lead.

Once in the lead he set about conserving his tyres, but an unexpected safety car period gave him the opportunity to make his second pit-stop. Fortunately the timing of the safety car was ideal and Craig was able to pit and emerge well in front of his closest rivals.

Craig was then involved in a straight fight to the end with James Courtney. It was an enthralling battle that lasted many laps, and eventually saw Courtney prevail. Despite just missing victory, Craig secured another second place finish to consolidate his third position in the championship.

"I am delighted because consistency wasn't on my side at the start of the season," Craig acknowledged.

"I have had my ups and downs, but it is great to be back on the podium and back in the championship hunt.

"While we still don't quite have the pace of James Courtney we made a lot of inroads with our car balance and pace this weekend.”

2010 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after six events)
1. James Courtney, Jim Beam Racing, 1467
2. Jamie Whincup, TeamVodafone, 1353
3. Craig Lowndes, TeamVodafone, 1245
4. Shane Van Gisbergen, SP Tool Racing, 1164
5. Garth Tander, Toll-Holden Racing Team, 1116
6. Lee Holdsworth, Garry Roger Motorsport, 1110
7. Rick Kelly, Jack Daniel’s Racing, 1079
8. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing, 1056
9. Michael Caruso, Garry Rogers Motorsport, 1035
10. Steven Johnson, Jim Beam Racing, 932