Craig Lowndes

Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing car driver in the Repco Supercars Championship racing for Team 18. He is also a TV commentator.

Lowndes is a three-time V8 Supercar champion, a five-time Barry Sheene Medalist, and a seven-time winner of Australia's most prestigious motor race, the Bathurst 1000 and two-time winner of the Bathurst 12 Hour.

On 6 July 2018, Lowndes announced his intention to step down from full-time driving at the end of the 2018 season, continuing as a co-driver.

Lowndes also voices Conrod in Roary the Racing Car in both the UK and US.

Racing career Lowndes began his racing career at age nine, driving go-karts and riding dirt bikes.

Early career Lowndes moved up to race cars in 1991, driving a Van Diemen in the Motorcraft Formula Ford "Driver to Europe" Series. Despite the car being several years old and receiving minimal sponsorship, Lowndes achieved almost immediate success. Lowndes won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 1993 which qualified him for the Formula Ford Festival in England that same year, where he finished third. In 1994, he moved up to Australia's top rank of open wheel racing, Formula Brabham. His success in Formula Brabham driving an ageing Cheetah Mk9 against much more modern cars was rewarded with the Australian Silver Star.

Holden Racing Team 1996 HRT CommodoreIn 1994, Lowndes joined the Holden Racing Team as a test driver. Having looked sufficiently promising in his maiden outings with the team, Lowndes was drafted into the No. 015 Commodore with Brad Jones for the 1994 Sandown 500. It was expected to be a one-off performance as Rickard Rydell from the BTCC was to join the team for Bathurst. However, Rydell was forced to stay home for family reasons, handing Lowndes a second opportunity to impress the team.

After a gruelling double-stint by Jones, Lowndes began the final stint of the race as the closest challenger to the dominant DJR Falcon of John Bowe. With eleven laps to go, Lowndes stunned the touring car establishment by overtaking Bowe on the outside of Griffins Bend. Bowe retook the lead a lap later when Lowndes was unsettled by lapped traffic. Nevertheless, second was an impressive achievement for a rookie driver. Lowndes won fans in pit lane when he later admitted that his passing move on Bowe was simply a case of missing his brake marker.

It would be almost a year before Lowndes would find himself back behind the driver's seat for HRT. Having been retained as their official test driver for 1995, Lowndes was forced to sit on the sidelines as the team persisted with their experienced line-up of Tomas Mezera and Peter Brock. At the season-ending endurance events, Lowndes was back behind the wheel and immediately impressed by taking his maiden pole position at the Sandown 500. His race would end in the gravel trap at Turn 1 after a spirited battle with veteran Glenn Seton. The rookie would prove his speed was no flash in the pain just a few short weeks later when he stormed to pole at the Bathrust 1000. His HRT Commodore would DNF early on in the race when both cars experienced oil pressure problems and eventual engine failure. The team had seen enough, however, and for the 1996 season Lowndes replaced Tomas Mezera.

In his first full season as an Australian Touring Car driver, Lowndes again surprised the establishment, winning the championship by 79 points from reigning champion, John Bowe. He also won both the Sandown and Bathurst races with teammate Greg Murphy, a rare treble. His Bathurst 1000 victory made him the youngest-ever winner of the race, and with Murphy, the youngest-ever driver pairing to win the Bathurst 1000. His unprecedented success prompted team owner Tom Walkinshaw to sign him to a ten-year management deal:

"We signed a deal earlier this year to get me overseas in 1997. Under the terms of the arrangement, he has got seven years to put me into F1. It's pretty rare for a young Australian to get a deal like this, although it's not so unusual in Europe for young drivers to get picked up at an early age."

Formula 3000 At the end of 1996, Lowndes left Australia for Europe to pursue his F1 dream with Walkinshaw. A successful F3 test prompted both Lowndes and Walkinshaw to skip the category altogether in favour of the heavier yet faster F3000 series. Super Nova team boss David Sears was impressed with Lowndes, but his insistence on a two-year commitment wasn't to Walkinshaw's liking and ultimately led to the Scotsman signing Lowndes to the RSM Marko Team in the 1997 International Formula 3000 Championship. Lowndes would partner the highly rated Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.

Qualifying an impressive sixth on debut at Silverstone, Lowndes' rookie season in the category ultimately proved underwhelming, his best finish of 4th in Enna paling in comparison to Montoya's three wins and 2nd in the championship. Commenting on his time at RSM Marko, Lowndes would describe the experience as markedly different from his time at HRT:

"There was one engineer who engineered both cars and (Montoya) drove the car very differently to what I did. They basically made the cars the same and very similar in set-ups and I just had to deal with it."

Despite his struggles, Lowndes was determined to carry on, but with sponsors reluctant to fund another season he duly returned to Australia and HRT.

Australian return

Upon his return to Australia, Lowndes again won the 1997 Sandown 500 for HRT, partnered by New Zealander Greg Murphy. In 1998, he resumed his full-time race seat with the Holden Racing Team (at the expense of Murphy) alongside new teammate and former champion Mark Skaife. Picking up where he left off, Lowndes went on to win his second consecutive Championship.

In 1998, Lowndes flirted with a potential trans-pacific move to the American CART series. Although he tested with Team KOOL Green's Indy Lights outfit (with both he and fellow V8 Supercar regular Jason Bright setting competitive times, the latter for PacWest), Lowndes eventually decided to stay in Australia.

A third title would follow in 1999 with Lowndes finishing off the podium only once in the first 18 races. In the first full year of campaigning the new Holden VT Commodore, Lowndes had amassed a large lead by the time the series arrived for Round 8 at Calder Park Raceway. Having duly won the first sprint race, a poor start by Lowndes saw him bogged down in the field and subsequently tapped by another car which resulted in a spectacular roll over. Despite missing the following round at Symmons Plains Raceway due to injury, Lowndes still managed to clinch the Championship at the Bathurst Classic, finishing second in the final round of the season.

Lowndes began the 2000 season the favorite to win a 4th straight title. In a surprise move, Lowndes' race engineer Rob Starr was moved to the sister car of Skaife. Lowndes struggled with reliability and consistency throughout the season and finished 3rd, behind teammate Mark Skaife and Garth Tander, with three round wins including the Queensland 500. HRT team manager Jeff Grech described the Lowndes/Skaife rivalry as "... insanely competitive. To be honest with you, they both had fun at the expense of my sanity."

Ford In 2001, Lowndes caused a stir among race fans when he jumped ship from Holden to arch-rival manufacturer Ford, signing with a new team headed up by former driver Fred Gibson. Gibson had a successful track record as a team owner/manager, having spear-headed Nissan's domination of the ATCC in the early 1990s with, ironically, Mark Skaife. This partnership lasted for two years in which time Lowndes finished seventh and 11th in the championship. The relationship proved unsuccessful due to reliability issues with the Ford Falcon race car and behind-the-scenes uncertainty over the team's direction. Despite the setbacks, Lowndes garnered an admiration from fans for his positive attitude and demeanour. Gibson Motorsport was renamed to 00 Motorsport (pronounced "double-o", being Lowndes' racing number) after a change of management. Lowndes's black and silver Falcon was affectionately referred to as the "green-eyed monster" for the bright green covers over the headlights.

Ford Performance Racing Lowndes signed with the factory-sponsored Ford Performance Racing team for the 2003 season. The season saw Lowndes improve from the previous two seasons and managed a fifth place in the championship including his first round win since the Queensland 500 in 2000 and the first with Ford. The season proved inconsistent and reliability issues started setting in throughout the season causing Lowndes to miss out on a chance for the title. 2004 would be Lowndes worst championship year, reliability became a big issue in the FPR garage throughout the season. Lowndes finished 20th in the championship, causing him to leave the team at the end of 2004.

Triple Eight Race Engineering Lowndes joined Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2005 and enjoyed his most successful season since switching to Ford. He had the most round victories and the most pole positions of any driver in the championship, and finished second in the final standings behind champion Russell Ingall. At the Bathurst 1000 that year, after qualifying on pole, he spent much time in the pits after two separate incidents which severely damaged his Falcon including a wheel that smashed into his windscreen.

At the V8 Gala Awards, Lowndes was awarded the Barry Sheene Medal, an award akin to Most Valuable Player which is voted on by a team of panellists from the Australian media, motorsport magazines, television commentators and former drivers. This award was first introduced in 2003, in honour of the late Barry Sheene.

2006–2008

The Ford Falcon BA with which Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won the 2006 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. The car is pictured in 2018. Lowndes was a contender for the championship right up until the last race, being level on points with Rick Kelly. The two fought one of the closest non-staged finishes in Bathurst 1000 history on 8 October 2006, with Lowndes winning over Kelly by just half a second. It was his first Bathurst win since 1996 and Ford's first since 1998. The win was a very emotional one for Lowndes, being the first Bathurst 1000 held since the death of his long-time mentor Peter Brock at a road rally the month before. As winners of the Bathurst 1000, the inaugural Peter Brock Trophy was presented to Lowndes and his teammate, Jamie Whincup.

Lowndes eventually finished second in the 2006 V8 Supercar season. After complaining of having been "unfairly" held up for up to six seconds a lap by Rick Kelly's teammates over the first two races, Lowndes was level on championship points with Kelly after race 2 (of 3) in the final round. In the deciding race Kelly crashed into Lowndes heading into the hairpin resulting in a lengthy pit stop to repair Lowndes' vehicle. Kelly received a drive-through penalty and went on to finish the race in 18th position and seal the championship victory, while Lowndes finished the race 31st.

Lowndes and Triple Eight Racing lodged a protest and a hearing was set up. The protest was dismissed after a long hearing and Rick Kelly was confirmed as the 2006 champion. Lowndes and Triple Eight Racing decided not to appeal that decision and proclaim themselves the "Moral Champions" for the 2006 season. Lowndes won the Barry Sheene Medal for the second year in a row.

Lowndes had three victories in 2007, the sixth round at Hidden Valley Raceway, and both the endurance races: the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000. He finished third place in the championship, while his teammate, Jamie Whincup, finished second. In 2008, Lowndes and Whincup won the Bathurst 1000 for a third time in a row, becoming only the third pairing in the history of the Bathurst 1000 to achieve it, after Peter Brock and Jim Richards (1978–80) and Peter Brock and Larry Perkins (1982–84).

2009 The Ford Falcon of Craig Lowndes at Queensland Raceway, 23 August 2009. In 2009, Lowndes started the year with a brand new Ford FG Falcon. Despite winning races in Winton, the Gold Coast and Barbagallo, he was unable to match his teammate and finished the year fourth in the standings. Being once again paired up with Whincup in the enduros but suffered the heartbreak of losing the race lead on the final lap of the L&H Phillip Island 500 due to a delaminating tyre. Heading to Bathurst on the verge of making history, they failed in their bid to win a fourth consecutive Bathurst title, due to a drive-thru penalty and a clutch problem.

2010 In 2010, Team Vodafone switched to Holden Commodores as Ford cut sponsorship. Lowndes placed fourth in the championship with podiums in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Queensland Raceway and Winton. Partnering five-time champion Mark Skaife, Lowndes won the Bathurst 1000 for the fifth time, as well as the Phillip Island 500. His first solo victory for the season came during the Falken Tasmania Challenge at Symmons Plains.

2011-12

2011 was Lowndes' most competitive season in five years, narrowly finishing second in the championship to teammate Whincup. He achieved five pole positions, a clean sweep of the Queensland Raceway round, another Phillip Island 500 crown with Mark Skaife and second place at Bathurst. Lowndes finished off the year by winning the Sydney 500, and taking out the Barry Sheene Medal for the third time. He backed up his campaign in 2011 by again finishing second to Whincup the following season. 2012 saw Lowndes net seven race victories in the championship, including his fifth Sandown 500 title with teammate Warren Luff.

2013

In the 2013 season opener in Adelaide, Lowndes won by a record margin of over 20.5 seconds in Race 1, while coming in third in Race 2. Lowndes' race 1 victory marked the first win under V8 Supercar's new "Car of the Future" regulations, as well as the 90th of his career, equalling all-time rival Mark Skaife. Along with his Triple Eight Racing teammate Jamie Whincup, Lowndes had continued to dominate in the 2013 season, scoring race wins at Adelaide, Barbagallo Raceway, Hidden Valley Raceway, and also winning Race 1 at Gold Coast with co-driver Warren Luff. He ended the season in second for the third consecutive year, all behind Jamie Whincup.thumb Lowndes at the Sydney Motorsport Park in 2014 during pre-season testing.

2015

In 2015, Lowndes became the first driver to reach 100 race wins in the V8 Supercar championship. He capped off a brilliant campaign by placing second in the championship and winning his sixth Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Steven Richards. In doing so, he equalled all-time greats Mark Skaife and Larry Perkins in terms of number of victories at Mount Panorama, and now stands alone with a record 13th podium at the event. He also scored his 5th Barry Sheene Medal and won the Most Popular Driver award for the third year in succession (since its inception in 2013).

2016

In 2016, Lowndes rejoined long-time Triple Eight Race Engineering technical director Ludo Lacroix as his Engineer under Team Vortex livery Lowndes won his first race of the year at the Perth SuperSprint, where he charged through the field after taking on a two-stop strategy. At the Sydney SuperSprint, Lowndes became the first driver to enter 600 championship races, and after leading the first half of the race, finished second to Whincup, who in the process became the second driver after Lowndes to win 100 races.

2017 2017 saw the continuation of Team Vortex running alongside the newly named Red Bull Holden Racing Team. Despite race wins from both reigning champion Van Gisbergen and crowned champion Whincup, Lowndes for the first time in his career suffered a winless season and also was unable to record a podium finish. Despite the tough season and disappointing outcome of 10th in the championship (his lowest since 2004 and lowest ever with Triple Eight), Lowndes denied retirement and announced his intention to continue racing in 2018.

2018 In January, Lowndes peeled back the covers of the Autobarn Lowndes Racing Holden ZB Commodore in which he would compete in 2018, and also confirmed he would once again be partnered by Steven Richards in the Pirtek Enduro Cup. At Tasmania, Lowndes took his first victory in nearly two years, recording the 106th win of his career in the second leg of the 2018 Tasmania SuperSprint. On 5 July, during the press conference at the Townsville 400, Lowndes announced that he will retire from full-time competition at the end of the 2018 championship. He will remain with Triple Eight Race Engineering as an endurance driver.

On 7 October 2018, Lowndes won his seventh Bathurst 1000 in a record time of 6 hours 1 minute with co-driver Steven Richards. The win equals Steven's father Jim Richards' total of 7 wins. Lowndes and Richards won the Pirtek Enduro Cup award after a strong showing throughout the campaign, including podiums at Sandown and the Gold Coast alongside his Bathurst win. Lowndes is the second driver to win the cup more than once.

2022 onwards

Lowndes continues to race in the Supercars Championship enduro rounds, co-driving in the Supercheap Auto backed 'wildcard' outfit. A program designed to support a young and upcoming driver to step up to the main game in the iconic Bathurst 1000 and lead in event. Previously the Sandown 500 but moving to Tailem Bend from 2025. Stepping in to the program in 2022, it has been the launching pad for previous teammates Declan Fraser, Zane Goddard, Cooper Murray and in 2025 Zach Bates. In 2026, Lowndes Joined Team 18, in a wildcard with Bayley Hall.

Off-road racing In 2010, Lowndes ventured off-road to compete in the Australasian Safari with a Holden Colorado at his disposal. He won the Rally Raid at his first attempt with a margin of over one hour back to second place. Former V8 Supercar team owner, Kees Weel was co-driver. Lowndes crashed out of the lead of the Safari the following year.

Lowndes participated in the 2021 Finke Desert Race's Prologue, driving a UTV with Triple Eight team principal Mark Dutton as his co-driver. Three years later, he made his official Finke debut in a Chevrolet ZR2 Silverado alongside Dale Moscott. Lowndes won the Prologue and set a new record for the first leg (Alice Springs to Finke) in a production vehicle with a time of 2 hours, 56 minutes, and 692 seconds. However, he was forced to retire on the return leg when the upper control arm's ball joint broke.

Bathurst 12 Hour

Lowndes' first competitive race at Bathurst was in the 1994 James Hardie 12 Hour for production cars. Sharing a Nissan Pulsar SSS with John and Phil Morriss, Lowndes finished 14th outright and first in Class B.

Since the Bathurst 12 Hour race was changed to allow FIA GT3 cars in 2011, Lowndes has been a regular competitor in the race. In 2011, he finished second outright in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 driving for famed German endurance racing team and multiple 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Joest Racing. In 2012 he failed to finish, again driving an Audi R8, this time for another German team Phoenix Racing, while he also failed to finish in 2013, again in an R8.

Lowndes finally won the race in 2014 driving a Ferrari 458 GT3 for Maranello Motorsport alongside fellow Aussies John Bowe and Peter Edwards, and ex-Formula One driver, Mika Salo of Finland.

On 5 February 2017, Lowndes again drove for Maranello Motorsport to win the 2017 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in a Ferrari 488 GT3 alongside Triple Eight teammate Jamie Whincup and another Finnish driver Toni Vilander.

More recently, Lowndes has been a pillar of the Scott Taylor Motorsport entry driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Awards and honours Among all his other achievements, Lowndes has claimed nine 500 kilometre V8 Supercar/ATCC endurance titles (six Sandown 500 victories, two Phillip Island 500 crowns and one Queensland 500 win). He is also the first driver in ATCC/V8SC history to win 100 races and holds the record for the most Bathurst 1000 podiums with 14.

On 11 June 2012, Lowndes received the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his success in motorsport and contribution to the broader Australian community, "particularly through road safety education programs and charitable organisations."

In 2018, Lowndes was also recognised in the prestigious Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards, as the ABC Sports Personality of the Year. On 16 March 2019, Lowndes was inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame.

Racing record

Career summary Season Series Position Car Team 1991 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series 16th Van Diemen RF85 Ford Craig Lowndes "Champion of Winton" Formula Ford Series 1st 1992 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series 5th Van Diemen RF85 FordReynard FF88 Ford Northern Tuning Services 1993 Australian Formula Ford Championship 1st Van Diemen RF93 Ford Craig Lowndes 1994 Australian Drivers' Championship 4th Cheetah Mk9 Holden Brian Sampson Australian Silver Star 1st 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship 1st Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team 1997 International Formula 3000 Championship 17th Lola T96/50 Zytek RSM Marko 1998 Australian Touring Car Championship 1st Holden VS CommodoreHolden VT Commodore Holden Racing Team 1999 Shell Championship Series 1st Holden VT Commodore Holden Racing Team 2000 Shell Championship Series 3rd Holden VT Commodore Holden Racing Team 2001 Shell Championship Series 11th Ford AU Falcon Gibson Motorsport 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 7th Ford AU Falcon Gibson Motorsport 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 5th Ford BA Falcon Ford Performance Racing 2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series 20th Ford BA Falcon Ford Performance Racing 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 2nd Ford BA Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 2nd Ford BA Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 3rd Ford BF Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series 4th Ford BF Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series 4th Ford FG Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 4th Holden VE Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship 2nd Holden VE Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2012 International V8 Supercars Championship 2nd Holden VE Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2013 International V8 Supercars Championship 2nd Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering Australian GT Championship 28th Audi R8 LMS Ultra Melbourne Performance Centre 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship 4th Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering Australian GT Championship 24th Chevrolet Camaro GT3 Interislander 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship 2nd Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship 4th Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 10th Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering Australian Tourist Trophy 1st Ferrari 488 GT3 Maranello Motorsport 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 4th Holden ZB Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 25th Holden ZB Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship NC Holden ZB Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2021 Repco Supercars Championship 31st Holden ZB Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2022 Supercars Championship 37th Holden ZB Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 2023 Supercars Championship 43rd Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Triple Eight Race Engineering 2024 Supercars Championship 32nd Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Triple Eight Race Engineering 2025 Supercars Championship 28th Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Triple Eight Race Engineering

Supercars Championship results

Bathurst 1000 results

Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Overallposition Classposition 1994 John Morriss John Morriss Phil Morriss Nissan Pulsar SSS B 236 14th 1st 2011 Joest Racing Audi Australia Mark Eddy Warren Luff Audi R8 LMS GT3 A 292 2nd 2nd 2012 Phoenix Racing Mark Eddy Warren Luff Audi R8 LMS GT3 A 156 DNF DNF 2013 Rod Salmon Warren Luff Rod Salmon Audi R8 LMS GT3 A 162 DNF DNF 2014 Maranello Motorsport John Bowe Peter Edwards Mika Salo Ferrari 458 GT3 A 296 1st 1st 2017 Maranello Motorsport Toni Vilander Jamie Whincup Ferrari 488 GT3 AP 290 1st 1st 2018 YNA Autosport Côme Ledogar Shane van Gisbergen McLaren 650S GT3 APP 119 DNF DNF 2019 Jamie Whincup Mercedes-AMG GT3 APP 312 4th 4th 2020 Earl Bamber Motorsport Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor Porsche 911 GT3 R Pro 312 9th 8th 2022 Scott Taylor Motorsport Geoff Emery Alex Davison Scott Taylor Porsche 911 GT3 R C 276 9th 1st 2023 Scott Taylor Motorsport Geoff Emery Alex Davison Scott Taylor Mercedes-AMG GT3 PA 177 DNF DNF 2024 Scott Taylor Motorsport Thomas Randle Cam Waters Pro 275 7th 7th

Personal life

September 2025 Lowndes announced he and Lara had separated.

2021 Lowndes was publicly disgraced after confirming a three year online affair with a catfish woman he had never met.

Lowndes claimed he was ashamed, in a bad place and was getting help

In 2011, Lowndes confirmed his amicable separation from his previous marriage.

Lowndes has confirmed in social media posts and his website, that he has entered into a new relationship