Craig was one of a few pace-setters across the weekend and made consistency count as others around him struggled, to finish in third position overall for the weekend.

The weekend started well for Craig when he qualified inside the top 10, making the Shootout. He then produced a clean lap to start the first race from sixth position.

Race 1 went well for the #888 TeamVodafone driver and he moved forward from his starting position into fourth and hounded the top three for the duration of the race. Despite not able to find a way past, Lowndes maintained his position to the flag.

Race 2 proved to be a tough encounter for Craig as a few off-track excursions saw him slip down the order. But in a testament to his experience and patience, he battled back to finish inside the top 10 in eighth.

In the final race he took advantage of a lightening start and others misfortune to finish in fourth spot, which was good enough to award him with third overall for the round.

“I’ve really enjoyed this weekend, as I always do, and I think today to finish on the podium is a bonus,” Craig said.

“We proved that we had great pace over the course of this weekend, despite trying a few different things, which I believe will put us in a good position later in the year.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to Hamilton in New Zealand for the next round of our series and having a positive run there, which is something I haven’t been able to do it the last few years.”

THURSDAY
Craig enjoyed a trouble free run in practice on Thursday afternoon, electing to experiment with set-up during the 30 minutes, to finish the session in 12th position.

With the Australian Grand Prix a non-championship event for the V8 Supercars, he and the team used the practice session to trial new developments on the Triple Eight built Commodore.

In the evening qualifying session Craig used the beginning of the 30 minutes to focus on car set-up for Friday’s race, which was to take place at a similar time.

A late flying lap elevated him within the top 10, eventually finishing in sixth position.

“It is great to be back running around Albert Park. The track is still quite dirty and low grip but we know that will change a lot over the next 24 hours,” Craig said.

“Today was all about finishing in the top ten for tomorrow’s shootout and with qualifying run later in the day, it gave us a good chance to see what the track temperatures will be like for tomorrow’s race.”

FRIDAY
Friday afternoon featured the Top 10 Shootout ahead of Race 1 scheduled for Friday evening. Craig put together another clean lap in the session to be sixth fastest, one spot ahead of teammate Jamie Whincup.

In the race Craig made a flying start, finishing the first lap in fourth position and immediately set about chasing down the front three.

He hounded Shane van Gisbergen for the majority of the race, but was unable to find a way past due to an engine misfire. Despite the misfire, Craig still appeared to have superior speed than the Kiwi.

Craig finished the race in fourth position, one spot ahead of teammate Whincup and just behind James Courtney, Garth Tander and van Gisbergen.

“I did get some wheelspin off the start which cost me slightly and allowed Cheesburger (Shane Van Gisbergen) to get past,” Lowndes explained.

“The car balance was good and I actually had better speed than I showed but I just struggled to get round Shane (Van Gisbergen). Then halfway through the race I developed a small engine miss which affected me at Turns 1 and 2.

“All-in-all it was a pretty good day and whilst not for championship points, it gives us a good chance to really test and push these new cars in a race situation.”

SATURDAY
After such a positive run in Race 1, Saturday’s Race 2 wasn’t Craig’s day right from the start.

The #888 TeamVodafone driver started fourth after his standout performance in Race 1, but a few off-track excursions cost him dearly and saw him finish down the order in eighth.

The team experimented with some changes overnight, which didn’t work out, so the focus became on finding a good setup for the final race on Sunday.

Tander took the race win ahead of Whincup and Courtney.

“It wasn’t our day today. I got a poor start with too much wheel spin then throughout the race I had too much oversteer,” Craig said.

“Mid race I had contact with Frosty (Mark Winterbottom) then I ran wide later in the race and lost another spot.

“The changes we made overnight didn’t work as well as we had hoped, so we will go back to the drawing board tonight and try and find some middle ground between yesterday’s setup and today’s.”

SUNDAY
Following a disappointing result in Race 2, Craig charged back in Race 3 to finish the non-championship round at Albert Park on a high.

He made his way through the field during the 13 lap encounter, steering clear of the carnage around him to record a promising result ahead of Round 4 of the series in New Zealand.

Craig finished fourth, behind race winner Tander, van Gisbergen and Will Davison, which gave him third position for the weekend.

“We had a much better day today. I was able to avoid wheel spin and I got what would have to be one of the best starts of my life,” Craig said.

“Jeromy (Moore) and I worked on car balance and the changes we made overnight made a huge difference, the car was much nicer to drive. We will leave Albert Park with a lot of confidence knowing we are really starting to make good progress with the car.”

BRC IMPCO V8 Supercar Challenge – Overall Results
1. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team, 292
2. Shane Van Gisbergen, SP Tools Racing, 258
3. Craig Lowndes, TeamVodafone, 220
4. Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team, 206
5. Steven Johnson, Jim Beam Racing, 198
6. Paul Dumbrell, The Bottle-O Racing Team, 188
7. James Courtney, Jim Beam Racing, 186
8. Jamie Whincup, TeamVodafone, 166
9. Lee Holdsworth, Fujitsu Racing, 148
10. Jason Richards, Team BOC, 146