09 Apr CRAIG LOWNDES WINS IN TASMANIA
Craig Lowndes scored his 106th career Championship race win in race 8 of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship at Symmons Plains (Tasmania) on the weekend.
Racing from his first pole position of the 2018 season, Craig dominated the day and all rivals to score his first Championship race win for almost two seasons.
It was a stellar weekend for Australia’s most popular driver, with a strong run to second place in Race 7 on the Saturday at Symmons Plains.
“I was really happy for the team,” a delighted Craig Lowndes said.
“Really delighted that we could score a podium, a pole and a win. It’s great for us as a team. I’m looking forward to moving on now and looking forward to Phillip Island in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Friday
- Two practice sessions
- Craig 4th fastest in Practice 1
- Craig 3rd fastest in Practice 2
“It was a cracker day! It’s been one of the best days we’ve had this year so far. We rolled the car out of the transporter I’d almost say about 85 percent right, which is always a good sign. Through our practice sessions today we just massaged the car and made small adjustments, which the car responded to. I’m not sure why I like this track, it really suits my style. I’m really pleased with where we’ve ended up, to have a strong car at the end. We’re delighted with our gains we’ve made this year. We’ve been talking about it, but it’s nice to finally deliver something, so bring on tomorrow.”
Saturday
- Craig 10th in Practice 3
- Craig qualifies 4th for Race
- 7Craig finishes 2nd in Race 7
“It’s great to finally get back on the podium. We pitted later than we planned, but of course it worked out better in the end because the tyre life started to fade towards the end. Credit to the team at Autobarn Lowndes Racing, it’s a great turnaround. We’ve been working very hard for the last 15 or 16 months to try and get a podium. Last year was up and down, but this year is turning around, and the car is working well. I’m loving where we’re at right now, we’ll keep pushing on and see what tomorrow brings.”
Sunday
- Craig 2nd fastest in Practice 4
- Craig qualifies 1st for Race 8
- Craig wins Race 8
- Craig’s 106th career Championship race win
“It was a great day today! We capitalised on yesterday and it was fantastic to have pole position. We weren’t sure exactly where we’d end up after that second run in that last qualifying session, but it was good enough just to get in front of Shane van Gisbergen. Then you’ve got to put it all together for the 80 or so laps. Our car was great (all race), it looked after its tyres (and) our strategy was great.”