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Lowndes scores Camaro drive

28 October, 2014

 

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“The Highlands 101
November 8–9, 2014
Highlands Motorsport Park
Cromwell, Central Otago”

It’s looking like November’s Highlands 101 endurance race is set for a shake up with V8 Supercar driver Craig Lowndes jumping into the Chev Camaro of Inky Tulloch.

The front-running Holden-driver isn’t the only V8 Supercar driver taking on the gruelling event, as rival Shane Van Gisbergen is also tackling the race, driving a McLaren GT3 with Australian GT Championship driver Klark Quinn. 

The Kiwi star and the Aussie champ are both entered for the 101-lap enduro, the feature race of the Highlands 101 event running over the weekend of November 8–9 on the Central Otago circuit.

Lowndes is excited to race at Highlands for the first time and to pilot the wild-looking Camaro GT3-spec race car.

“One of my biggest reasons for doing the event is to get to race on the Highlands track,” says Lowndes. “It looks awesome, I’ve heard great things about it and I can’t wait to get there. Learning new tracks is both challenging and fun, I am looking forward to it.”

Not only will the event be the first time for Lowndes at the track, but it also marks the first time Tulloch’s Camaro has been on the track as well. Tulloch says he’s really looking forward to having a professional of Lowndes’ ability in the car.

“The early form of the Camaro has been promising, but we’re still working through some of the ‘new car’ gremlins,” says Tulloch, who was leading a recent endurance event in Christchurch before a sudden and unexpected mechanical failure.

“Craig is an outstanding driver with outstanding technical ability to get the best out of any car, so I’m looking forward to racing with Craig and seeing him help uncover the true potential of the Camaro.”

Lowndes is also happy to have been asked to drive the Camaro. “It’s a new car to the category and I haven’t even seen it yet. But it’s got a good pedigree, and on paper it looks very competitive. It’s a GM product and it’s quite different from the GT cars I’ve raced previously.”

In regards to the Highlands 101 race format with its running start for one of a team’s two drivers, Lowndes says, “We haven’t had a chance to think about who’ll start in the car or who’ll be running yet. It’ll be up to Ian, so maybe we’ll just toss a coin! I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

Van Gisbergen has the advantage over Lowndes of having previously raced at Highlands and also having raced the GT3-spec McLaren MP4 12C with Tony and Klark Quinn in February’s Bathurst 12-Hour Race, where he set a new lap record for ‘tin-tops’ at the Mount Panorama circuit.

The Gold Coast-based Kiwi says the Highlands circuit is fun in every car he’s driven there.

“I have visited Highlands a few times now and have driven a number of cars around there. I watched the 101 from the commentary box last year; it’s a different format to most GT races with the Le Mans-style start, so that should be fun too!” says Van Gisbergen.

“The McLaren is awesome to drive — I love driving GT cars so I’m certainly looking forward to having another go. Klark is a really good driver and, although the seat needs to go quite a way forward for him, in the racing we have done together so far, we have been competitive so I hope we can have a go at getting top step of the podium!”

Tickets are available for the event online from TicketDirect, or at the gate during the race weekend. Visit highlands.co.nz for more info or check out Highlands on Facebook.

“Gotcha!’’ The continuing tale of a Nissan/Datsun tragic – part two

8 May, 2026

In 1996, I was on a mission to buy a suitable pavement scorcher and visited the now-defunct Manukau City Car Fair. Unbelievably, among the sea of four-door utilitarian Japanese compacts was the absolute jewel in the crown, my automobile wet dream — a 1985 two-door R30 RS Nissan Skyline FJ20 Turbo five-speed manual in nice condition. The owner wanted $10,000 — a great deal.
But what did I do? I bailed out, paralysed by indecision. The money would have been a stretch, but it was the worst automotive choice I ever made. Instead, I went for a rusty Toyota Sprinter 8 Valve Twin Cam Coupé, which was pretty terminal from the get-go. I know. We’ve all done it, but there was really no excuse for passing up the Skyline, and I was haunted by that for years.

Last Tango in the Fast Lane

30 April, 2026

In the mid ’80s, I locked into a serious Nissan/Datsun performance obsession. It could have kicked off with my ’82 Datsun Sunny, though this would have been a bit of a stretch of the imagination, given its normally aspirated 1.2-litre motor — not the sort of thing to unleash radical road warrior dreams. But it did plant a seed, and it was a sweet little machine and surprisingly quick, in contrast to all the diabolical English offerings I had endured.
I was living in South Auckland at the time and was an unrepentant petrolhead. Motor racing was my drug of choice, and I followed the scene slavishly. Saloon car racing, with the arrival of the international Group A formula, was having a serious renaissance here and in Australia and Europe. There was suddenly an exotic air in local racing that had been absent for 15 years.
I was transfixed by this new frontier of motor racing that had hit our tracks in 1985–87 and the new array of machinery on display. In 1986, the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 made a blinding impression on me. The Australian Fred Gibson-run, Peter Jackson-sponsored team of George Fury and Glenn Seton were the fastest crew of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship. But Kiwi legend Robbie Francevic snuck through to win the Aussie Championship in his Volvo 240T after a strong start and consistent finishes.