HIS success at Mount Panorama and popularity amongst fans means Craig Lowndes is an honorary citizen of Bathurst, but there's a chance this year might be his last Great Race.
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When October rolls around this year Lowndes, who'll be 49, will share the wheel of a Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard entry with Zane Goddard.
It will be Lowndes' 30th consecutive start in the Bathurst 1000. It will be his fifth since retiring from a full-time Supercars drive.
However, Lowndes has admitted that he will call time on racing in the iconic 161-lap enduro if he is not competitive.
"It really comes down to seeing how we go performance-wise. I think that last year we had some good performance, good speed, this year will be a telling factor," he told the Parked Up Plus podcast.
"One thing I've never wanted to do is just drive around for the sake of driving.
"The ego side of me, yeah, I'd love to come back next year and year after that, year after that, but you've got to be realistic."
Good performances at Mount Panorama are something Lowndes has consistently delivered since he made his Bathurst 1000 debut in 1994 alongside Brad Jones.
That first year Lowndes wowed fans as he led the race with 11 laps to go after overtaking John Bowe on the outside of Griffins Bend before eventually finishing second in the Holden Racing Team entry.
Lowndes has gone on to win the Bathurst 1000 seven times. He did it for the first time in 1996 with Greg Murphy, he won three times in a row with Jamie Whincup between 2006-08, he shared glory with Mark Skaife in 2010 and triumphed with Steve Richards in 2015 and 2018.
All up Lowndes has made more Bathurst 1000 podiums that any other driver with his count standing at 14, while he's had an additional seven top-10 finishes.
Last year at Bathurst, in what was his 300th Australian Touring Cars Championship/Supercars series round start, Lowndes and Declan Fraser created history when placing eighth.
It was the best finish of any wildcard entry in the Great Race.
"To be the highest placed wildcard entrant ever at the Bathurst 1000 is really pleasing," Lowndes said after that drive.
While Lowndes' record and reputation means he is highly coveted as a co-driver and admits he could have a Bathurst 1000 seat as long as he wants - saying "You'd like to think so and hope so" - his aim is to not just be a competitor.
He wants to be a contender and he wants to feel like he has something to offer the young drivers he is mentoring.
If Lowndes can do that, he will talk to Triple Eight boss and great friend Whincup about racing in the 2024 Bathurst 1000 and beyond.
"At the end of the day, teams have got to be responsible in some way and they want best for their sponsors," he said.
"As I said, I don't want to run around just for the sake of running around. I want to actually be competitive and finishing eighth last year was best we could do.
"I see this now as more of what [Peter] Brock did with me in the sense of nurturing me into this category.
"We've done the same with Declan, hopefully can do the same with Zane, and if there is another opportunity next year and our speed's good this year, I'll definitely be talking to Jamie.
"We had a few little issues with the car [last year] but other than that, it was the best finish for a wildcard ... we want to go better than that this year, that said something that Zane and I have got to do."
Though Lowndes and Goddard will have limited time in the new Gen3 car before this year's Bathurst 1000, the seven-time Great Race champion is not overly concerned.
That Goddard has three prior starts in the Great Race and this season marks the return of a pre-Bathurst enduro is a plus.
"This year unfortunately we'll go in a bit cold turkey. We did look at some other things, but to be honest, even like the Porsche Carrera Cup, great car but left-hand drive paddle shift, completely different to what a Supercar is," Lowndes said.
"But Jamie is not too concerned, he knows once we get there it won't take us long. The benefit of obviously this year is we've got Sandown 500, so we've got a bit of a lead in to get rid of the rust and see what happens.
"Zane has done some miles, he knows the cars, he understands the circus, so I think we're in more of a fortunate position this year than we were last year.
"Last year Declan was a really a rookie, so Zane's got a little bit more experience, so that's going to be good for us."
While Lowndes may have hinted at retirement, Whincup says that he is "part of the wallpaper at Triple Eight" and that the team wants to extend his contract.
Lowndes would be 50 if he drives in the 2024 Bathurst 1000. However, John French won the Great Race as a 50-year-old and in 2002, Jim Richards won aged 55 years and 41 days.
This year's Bathurst 1000 runs from October 5-8.
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