URGENT: Crash Test, elephino, etc...

[Danielsun]

What's this I am reading over at Yahoo! that Craig Lowndes has been 'fired' by HRT?!?!?! As the most - ahem - beloved (or not) politician would say: 'Please explain...'

[Crash Test]

"I sell fish and chips these days Danielsun"

Has he? Is it official? Really? Umm...the latest i heard from the horses mouth was that he was in the process of signing the deal with HRT...maybe he couldn't seepast his mono and failed to sign on the dotted line?

[marcus]

there are rumors around that HRT have sacked Craig..but i dont believe it for a second..the rumors say that he is going to ford next year with a good 1 million dollar bonus..if he goes I believe it will be of his own doing not because HRT have sacked him..they wouldnt be that stupid.

this all started out of him signing to drive the Panoz at Adelaide and the press have jumped on the Ford thing from there...it would be good to see him go to ford and have a crack at it but i think he will stay with HRT.

[elephino]

I'm not going to say where Craig will be next year.

He is being offered ridiculous (for V8Supercars) amounts of money by both Ford and Holden teams. Where ever he ends up, he will still be quick and still be competitive.

[Danielsun]

And further rumours, courtesy of the radio station I miss, Triple M, DJR... Oh puh-leeeze... What next? One of Malcolm Rea's Carinas in the ASTC?

[elephino]

I saw Alan Gurrs Mondeo at Westfield Chatswood today. He was also there to sign autograph I doubt anyone else knew who he was, and no I didn't hang around to get an autograph.

[Crash Test]

No doubt that was the biggest ASTC crowd of the year...what do you reckon, 5000 people walked past the car in the mall?

Were they filming the static car, since there wont be any Winton to show in TV this week?

Back on topic, still no idea what Lowndes is doing...

[Falcadore]

Don't expect ANY announcement until after Lowdnes completed a Holden function at Bathurst on September 2 where he will be chauffering the Olympic flame around Mount Panorama in his V8 Supercar. And not obeying the speed limits.

[Falcadore]

For those casual readers perhaps an explanation is required. Criag Lowndes is not having the best year he's ever had at HRT. In fact it's the worst. He's had a couple of uncharacteristic mchanical failures, and last year Holden politics cost him a win in the Bathurst 1000. Holden politics that turned out to be incorrect founded as well.

Holden are very upset that Lowndes will be co-driving a Ford with Mark Noske at the Race of 1000 Years at Adelaide, particularly once they found out that his contract with TWR didn't actually prevent him from driving the car.

Lowndes himself still aspires to an international career. Holden do not want him to have an international career. One thing Holden found out from the Formula 3000 experience in 1997 that Lowndes racing overseas will provide Holden with exactly zero kudos points for PR purposes. Additionally GM's international racing programs are extremely limited. Lowndes would probably consider BTCC Vectra a sideways step rather than forwards. A DTM2 Astra is a more interesting propsotion, but with so few cars available who give one to an unknown Australian? A GT3 Chevvy Corvette might be interesting except the racing programm is too limited.

On the other hand Ford have extensive racing programs with a very wide variety of open wheeler programs, both directly and indirectly, like Don Panoz's ALMS operation, Paul Stewart Racing in F3000 through it's association with the Jaguar F1 team, a BTCC Mondeo program, WRC Focus program, a Cosworth CART/Champcar engine program, and many more besides. While I'm not suggesting these may be opn to Lowndes, it opens the possibilities considerably wider than staying at Holden does.

So what does Lowndes do? Take the money (Holden) or the gun (Ford). Stay tuned for the coming week.

[elephino]

Sort of right falc. Craig has special permission to drive over the 60km/h speed limit around Bathurst (still a public road of course). Not by much as he wasn't allowed to go over 80km/h and had a policeman in the passenger seat to look after the flame.