When Craig Lowndes got behind the wheel at Mount Panorama in NSW's Central West last October for the Bathurst 1000 he created two pieces of Supercars history, but he still wanted more.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Though he's no longer a full-time member of the Supercars series, Lowndes' burning desire to win the Bathurst 1000 is still present.
That's why the fan-favourite will be back at the Mount this year for yet another shot at Bathurst 1000 glory.
As was the case in 2022, he will do it in a Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard.
This time Lowndes - who last year became the first driver in the history of the Australian Touring Cars Championship/Supercars series to record 300 round starts when he tackled the Great Race - will share his seat in the Chevrolet Camaro with Zane Goddard.
This time the Supercars hall of famer wants to do better than his eighth placing alongside Declan Fraser in 2022 - a result which was the best ever for a Bathurst 1000 wildcard.
"My focus going into this year is to better our result from last year," Lowndes said.
"We achieved the best result for any wildcard entry at the Bathurst 1000, so that was great.
"The problem is, you want to do that again, so my focus is to finish higher than eighth."
It will be Lowndes' 30th consecutive Bathurst 1000 start when he gets behind the wheel of the wildcard entry.
Lowndes also currently holds the record for the most Bathurst 1000 podiums - his tally stands at 14 - while the Supercars legend is still a chance of equalling the record nine Great Race wins of the late, great Peter Brock.
Lowndes has previously worked alongside Goddard, the duo doing Gen3 demonstrations together.
Goddard raced as a member of the Supercars grid in seasons 2020 and 2021 for Matt Stone Racing, while last year when partnering James Courtney in the Bathurst 1000, he was involved in a huge crash on lap four.
Though Goddard is yet to finish the Great Race from three prior attempts, Lowndes is excited to partner with him.
"He's a great young kid with great speed, and a great head on his shoulders," he said.
"For me, I'm really looking forward to going to Bathurst this year in the wildcard and share the load both on and off the track."
IN OTHER NEWS:
As for Goddard, he can't wait to tackle the biggest race of his career alongside a man he has long admired.
"When I was younger, I loved watching Lowndesy winning races, and to now be partnering up with him for the enduro season is amazing," the 23-year-old said.
"Having Craig to learn off, not just on the track but also off the track is going to be a great experience.
"To learn off him is going to be the most valuable part; the way he is with sponsors, TV, the way he drives, the way he conducts himself - there's a lot to learn off him. There's no one better to learn off especially leading into Bathurst because he's won so many times."
"I'm super excited to be joining the team this year. To join a team that have been so dominant in both the drivers' and teams' championships is amazing."
This year's Bathurst 1000 will be held from October 5-8.
