Photo: autobarnlowndesracing.com.au

Craig Lowndes wins first Supercars race since 2016

Craig Lowndes secured his first Supercars victory since 2016 in the final race of the weekend at Symmons Plains.

“I’m relieved. It’s no secret last year was up and down and we’ve wanted to be more consistent,” said Lowndes to supercars.com.

“I said from the start that this car suits me and hopefully we’ve proven this weekend. It’s been a long time coming and I can’t thank the team enough.”

The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver started from pole position, his first since 2015, and claimed the lead ahead of team-mates Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup.

Van Gisbergen put pressure on Lowndes in the first part of the race but was unable to match the pace of his Holden colleague as the race progressed.

Instead it was DJR Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin who challenged Lowndes for the victory. The Kiwi briefly took over the lead after the first stop but with Lowndes reclaiming the lead not long after with a strong passing move on the Ford driver.

Rain started to fall toward the end of the race but did not become strong enough to affect the race.

Lowndes won the race just over two seconds ahead of McLaughlin who came under pressure from Whincup toward the end of the race. Whincup finished third ahead of Walkinshaw Andretti United James Courtney in fourth.

Reigning champion van Gisbergen dropped down the field to finish 25th due to a throttle issue.

Another front runner to hit technical issues was McLaughlin’s team-mate Fabian Coulthard who went off track while in sixth position as he dropped a wheel due to a failed wheel nut. The Ford Falcon driver was able to limp back into the pits for repairs but finished well down in 17h position.

Fifth place went to Tekno Autosport driver Jack Le Brocq, with Scott Pye of Walkinshaw Andretti United, Garth Tander of Garry Rogers Motorsport and David Reynolds of Erebus Motorsport rounded off the top eight.

Nissan Motorsport had another tough weekend with Rick Kelly as their top driver in eleventh position.