Motorsport: Lowndes still fast but fans not so furious

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Bathurst in the late 1970s was a passionate place. It was almost open warfare up on the mountain between the Holden and Ford fans and you could've been lynched for wearing the wrong colour, let alone the wrong manufacturer's shirt.

Before the police clamped down on such behaviour, the odd car was burnt, such was the hatred of the opposing camps. Things have marginally improved over the past 30-odd years, as fans have come to begrudgingly accept each other.

Today, most of the teams contesting the Australian V8 Supercars are known more by their sponsor's name than the badge on the grill. There's still the Holden Racing Team and Ford Performance Racing but they're the only ones who really emphasise the manufacturer angle on a 30-car grid.

However, at the start of the century, it was still regarded as sacrilege for drivers to change sides and, as far as fans were concerned, they could burn in hell. Craig Lowndes was one of the first V8 racers to brave the wrath of Holden fans when he, to some folk, sold his soul and jumped ship to race a Ford in 2001.

"I suppose I lost about 50 per cent of my support when I changed over but probably gained 50 per cent from the other side," reminisced Lowndes. "It was one of those things back when I did it that wasn't all that common, not like these days. I'd spent six years with Holden and it was about time for a change of team but it all of a sudden it became bigger than that; it became a change in manufacturer as well."

Not all Holden fans wanted to string up Lowndes and some still come up to him today and wish him all the best. Lowndes has noticed fans are now following personalities more than the car maker.

"There's a definite mix of fans out there now that are personality driven and not manufacturer biased."

He should know. Lowndes began racing the big taxis in 1994 and has tasted success - winning three V8 championships and four Bathurst titles. He first came to prominence with the Holden Racing Team when he partnered Brad Jones at the 1994 Sandown 500, where they came home fifth, and followed that with a second as a rookie at Bathurst.

HRT signed him up full-time in 1996 and he won both the Sandown and Bathurst endurance races with Kiwi Greg Murphy and they became the youngest pairing to win a Bathurst trophy.

"Murph and I got on great and we won our first Bathurst together and that was the highlight.

"I came back from Europe in '97 and we paired up again but unfortunately I crashed the car at the top of the mountain and Murph probably hasn't forgotten or forgiven me for that. We still get on really well and they were good times."

Lowndes and Murphy beat the king of Mount Panorama, Peter Brock, that year.

"Bathurst is an amazing race and you've got to get it all right on the day. It would be nice to beat Brock's record but it all comes down to teamwork and a bit of luck.

"Racing against Brock was great and an amazing time. You learned a lot from him and the way he carried himself."

Spectators can occasionally be forgiven for thinking there must be a fair amount of animosity between the drivers, as some are prone to handing out more than a love-tap on the track. It's a wonder there isn't the odd dust-up behind the pits.

During his career, Lowndes has been on the receiving end of more than his fair share of incidents and has caused a few himself.

"We all try and sort it out before it spirals out of control or festers up and gets blown all out of proportion. If I've caused an accident and know it's my fault, I'll go and try and sort it out as soon as possible before we get back on the track again.

"You've got to clear the air and get on with motor racing. Some people want to try and return the favour but my method is to try and sort it out before we get back on track. You've got to let the stewards sort it out and not go looking for revenge.

"There's a couple of guys you want to avoid, though. If you make contact with someone like Russell Ingall, you know he's going to give it back to you. And when Mark Skaife was racing, he used to get his hackles up on occasion."

There's not a lot of difference between a Ford and a Holden these days, as the performance and handling are pretty much the same. Things haven't always been that way and Lowndes found that out when he changed makes.

"Back then, the Holden was a better package than the Ford. The Ford was a difficult car to drive," he said.

"Although we could get the speed out of it, you had to drive it more precisely than the Holden. Today's cars are pretty much identical but back then, they were quite different."

If the cars are almost the same package these days, it begs the question why before this weekend, a Ford had won only once in 24 attempts in New Zealand. Until Jamie Whincup's victory yesterday, Marcos Ambrose was the only driver to bring the blue oval over the line first, back in 2004.

Last year, the Fords were fastest in practice and Kiwi Steven Richards put his FPR car on pole but HRT's Garth Tander won all three races.

"I think Ford cars have had their opportunities over the years over here but we just haven't finished the job," said Lowndes. "Our cars have been fast enough but circumstances have conspired against us and allowed Holden to dominate in New Zealand. Hopefully we can change that this year. The FG's a good car and I reckon we can turn it around this weekend."

It's not only Ford who has a dismal record in New Zealand - Lowndes has been on the podium only once in all his visits here.

"I haven't actually won a round here and it would be nice to change those stats as well. Again we've had the car speed but had mixed fortunes during the races.

"I love street circuits, so hopefully this time around, Hamilton will be a bit kinder to me and we can get a bit more speed out of the car. I also loved Pukekohe as well but never got a result there either."

Lowndes comes to Hamilton following a good win at the non-point-scoring round at the Australian Grand Prix and feels this could be his year in New Zealand.

"Coming off a win always gives you confidence and I'm keen to get more wins under my belt."