Crompton signs with Lowndes superteam
29/1/2001 23:31 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Neil Crompton has signed as pinch hitter for Ford’s newest superteam, Gibson Motorsport.
Crompton, who split amicably with Ford-Tickford Racing last year, will compete in selected Shell Series events towards the later half of the year, before co-driving with star Craig Lowndes at the endurance events.
Crompton sees the move as a challenge.
"This is a huge and very exciting opportunity for me. The chance to drive alongside Craig is fantastic, and I'm sure we will achieve a lot together," 40-year-old Crompton said.
"The Gibson Motorsport facility is world class, and this new project has injected massive interest into V8 Supercar racing and really changed the landscape, it'll be quite a challenge playing a role in something new and brave.”
"It is going to be hard to watch the field from the outside in the early stages of the year but I will happily opt for quality over quantity any day, and I know the Gibson Motorsport Falcon will be a very special car,” he said.
Lowndes will begin testing the first Gibson Motorsport Ford – the recently purchased Colourscan Falcon – towards the end of next month. The ex-Craig Baird Stone Brothers Falcon will arrive shortly after.
With Lowndes to pilot the former SBR machine, and Gibson stablemate Rodney Forbes likely to make the switch to Ford and run the Colourscan car, Crompton’s chance won’t come until the team can build their own car.
Crompton’s role with Channel Ten could be extended to include V8 Supercar commentary work when not in the car.
Meanwhile, Fred Gibson is still confident they’ll have the support of K-Mart when the season begins at the Melbourne Grand Prix in March. It is believed Gibson will hear from the retail giant this week.
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