Craig's impossible blue dream come true
24/2/2001 12:06 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Twelve months ago the idea seemed inconceivable. But the hearts of many diehard Holden fans sank just a little lower yesterday when former Holden hero Craig Lowndes got behind the wheel of a Ford Supercar for the very first time.
Lowndes got his first taste of the AU Falcon at Gibson Motorsport’s first and only test day at Victoria’s Winton Raceway ahead of the V8 Supercars’ first 2001 hit-out at the Australian Grand Prix next week.
And the verdict? Well Ford’s multi-million dollar man was saying all the right things.
"If there's one thing that's different, it's the engine note. It sounds fantastic!” he told Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper yesterday.
Lowndes took the reigns of the machine on which his early hopes rest, the ex-Craig Baird Stone Brothers Falcon. Adorned in all blue with Ford’s name plastered across the windscreen, there could be no doubting who now signs Lowndes’ cheques.
The official word from Lowndes was one of “pleasant surprise” by the first-up speed of the car, although times from the over 60-lap test were not made available.
"I thought we'd struggle a bit, but the car is very, very good," Lowndes said.
"There's nothing really wrong at all. In fact, I'm more surprised how good it is," he said.
Lowndes heads to the non-championship Grand Prix meet underdone, but will use the weekend to get a better understanding of the car ahead of the Shell Series first round later in the month.
However, there is talk the continuing legal row surrounding Lowndes’ TWR management contract could sideline him from the event. Tom Walkinshaw has been talking tough through the week, but Lowndes is unfazed.
"It is a reality, but hopefully we'll have everything sorted and that won't happen," Lowndes said.
|
|
