A young speed king bursts onto the V8 scene
There’s no doubt about it, Craig Lowndes is a star of Australian motorsport. The 1993 Australian Formula Ford Champion burst onto the V8 scene a year later with a runner-up finish in the Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst, but it was his first full championship season in 1996 that turned everyone’s head.
He claimed the Australian Touring Car Championship for the Mobil Holden Racing Team in his very first attempt, impressing all with his speed and devastating pace in the early stages of races. It was a season with lots of highs and only the occasion low, but on this very special Seven Sport Magic Moments of Motorsport release we have selected three of his best round wins from that stunning 1996 title victory – and in the nine races that make up those rounds he is completely unbeaten! First up we take in Round 4 of the ’96 ATCC at Symmons Plains in Tasmania as he and teammate Peter Brock dominated the opposition to finish 1-2 in all three sprint races.
Then we take in Round 7 at Lakeside in Queensland where Lowndes was behind the wheel of the brand new, much-vaunted ‘Supercar’ Commodore that the HRT had built in secret featuring a range of technology that left rivals up in arms. The result was another clean-sweep of the round as Lowndes claimed the overall round victory clear of Falcon pilots Alan Jones and John Bowe. We’ve also included Round 8 from Barbagallo Raceway in Perth on this special release as Lowndes runs rings around his opposition with three more race wins.
As a special bonus we’ve also dug into the 7 Sport archives and discovered Craig in action in his title-winning season in the 1993 Australian Formula Ford Championship at Winton and Oran Park.
These races are rare and show you the style and speed of a young driver destined for great things in the years to follow. This is a special release for all Australian motorsport fans but particularly those many thousands of fans of Craig Lowndes.