Motorsport: Ex-wife slams Supercars driver Craig Lowndes

Craig Lowndes and Natalie, pictured in 2002, were together for 14 years. Photo / News Limited

Craig Lowndes' ex-wife has accused the car racing champion of disappointing his children, in a public social media post that claims he neglected to tell them about his retirement plans.

The three-time V8 Supercar champion from Brisbane announced on Friday he would finish up full-time racing at the end of this year's Supercars season.

But his ex-wife Natalie yesterday slammed the 44-year-old for failing to tell his children of his plans, saying they had to find out via social media and that he had reached a "new level of low".

"The kids did not know about his retirement and found out when the world was told," she wrote on Facebook.

Natalie said she and her children drove from Cairns to Townsville to support Lowndes "after seeing the emotional press release on social media", but said he did not spend time with them.

"Thanks for the 2 minutes you spent with our daughter," she wrote.

"She stood and waited patiently watching you, waiting for you to acknowledge her and include her in something. You broke your girls (sic) heart. Good luck with your retirement 'old mate'."

The couple announced their split in 2011 after 14 years together. He has since remarried.

Lowndes revealed last week his plans for retirement from full-time racing.

The 44-year-old called time on his illustrious 21-year career as a full-time driver, finishing at the season-ending Newcastle 500.

But the six-time Bathurst winner will continue to race at Mount Panorama, Sandown and on the Gold Coast as an endurance-event driver with Triple Eight Race Engineering.

An emotional Lowndes revealed the reasons for his decision at a press conference in Townsville ahead of last weekend's Supercars round.

"I've always said there are two key factors keeping me racing and those are my motivation to keep getting up and doing what I love and my competitiveness, and for me, nothing has changed,'' Lowndes said.

"But at the same time I want to make sure I finish my last full-time season with some strong results in the bag and after this year's results so far Roland Dane (Triple Eight Race Engineering) and I came to the decision between us that this will be my last full season behind the wheel.''

Lowndes revealed he will join the V8 commentary team next year and is also considering racing overseas.