CRAIG Lowndes has more Bathurst 1000 podiums than any other driver in the history of the event, but his hunger to find success at Mount Panorama is as strong as ever.
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He placed second in his Great Race debut in 1994 and has gone on to notch up 12 more podium finishes, of which six have been wins.
The most recent of those came in 2015 alongside Steve Richards, a co-driver he will share his seat with again this October as he looks to hoist the Peter Brock Trophy once more.
“For me it’s always eye on Bathurst, I’ve always said and haven’t been shy in saying that I always want to win Bathurst over a championship,” Lowndes said.
“This year will be no different, it will be really hard fought out competition. One hundred and 61 laps around there, it’s going to be a gruelling race.
READ MORE: The Mount has a fear factor says Lowndes
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“We’ve heard that the cars are reliable now, it’s almost a 161 sprint race. Every time the main driver or co-driver are in you’re doing a 20-24 lap stint and they’re flat out.”
Lowndes and Richards head to the Mount on the back of solid third placing in the Sandown 500 – the first leg of the Enduro Cup – last Sunday.
It is the best result the pair have enjoyed together in the build up to Bathurst, eclipsing their fourth placing in the 2014 edition of Sandown.
Still, Lowndes knows the Bathurst 1000 is a different beast and will present different challenges for himself and Richards.
“Sandown for us as a duo has always been a bit of an Achilles heel, but this year we turned that around,” he said.
“He’s [Richards] comfortable in the car, he’s been in the car multiple times throughout this year, really happy with the direction we’re heading the car into and of course, Bathurst is just another mega weekend of a circuit.
“I think that although Sandown was fantastic for Triple Eight as a whole, getting a podium lock-out, it’s a very different circuit [at] Bathurst. Fast, flowing, high speeds.
“Team Penske were very quick last year, no doubt they’ll want to turn their results around again this year.
“You can’t underestimate anyone because the cars are fast, they’re reliable, and drivers now, the pairings of drivers, are really credible.
“It always gives you a little bit of nerves inside knowing what you are going to go into and knowing the history of what we’ve had there.”
This year’s Bathurst 1000 will be contested on October 7, with the opening practice session to commence at 9.35am on October 4.
