{"id":3975,"date":"2018-04-08T14:18:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-08T18:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=3975"},"modified":"2018-04-08T14:23:47","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T18:23:47","slug":"plenty-of-fire-left-in-the-belly-of-craig-lowndes-tyrepower-tasmania-supersprint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/04\/08\/plenty-of-fire-left-in-the-belly-of-craig-lowndes-tyrepower-tasmania-supersprint\/","title":{"rendered":"Plenty of Fire left in the belly of Craig Lowndes; Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong>Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint<\/strong> was a welcome back to form, for one of Australia&#8217;s favourite motorsport sons. In two races held at <em>Symmons Plains Raceway<\/em>, fans could see that there was plenty of &#8216;fire&#8217; left in the belly of <strong>Craig Lowndes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1>Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint &#8211; Plenty of Fire left in the belly of Craig Lowndes<\/h1>\n<p>A terrific drive from pole position saw Craig Lowndes win race number eight of the season. And the day before, he returned to form in a run for second place, to take the weekends results at the\u00a0Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint.<\/p>\n<p>If anything, this weekend the three-time Supercars champion returned to form. Demonstrating that he still had &#8216;plenty of fire in the belly&#8217; it was a class show.\u00a0He drove his ZB Holden Commodore to the edge, out-performing the &#8216;works team&#8217; driver of <strong>Jamie Whincup,<\/strong>\u00a0of <strong>Red Bull Holden Australia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tense moments at the rejoin.<\/p>\n<p>The effective race order is Lowndes, McLaughlin, Whincup.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/VASC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#VASC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mGRBFHh3LO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/mGRBFHh3LO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Supercars (@supercars) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/supercars\/status\/982844123970387968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>His <strong>Autobarn Lowndes 888 Racing<\/strong> team, a third car in the Red Bull stable, underlined that sides gauge of the newly developed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/02\/11\/new-machinery-drivers-2018-v8-supercars-track-test-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">ZB Holden<\/a>.\u00a0But as much as it was a great showing again for the Commodore, it was the drive of Lowndes which will be celebrated.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;More relieved,&#8221; when asked how he felt post-race. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been pushing hard, this year we want to be more consistent. We wanted to be on the podium and hopefully we proved it this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Having sort of &#8216;part of our own team&#8217; it&#8217;s been a long time coming. I can&#8217;t thank the team enough&#8221;. And Lowndes was applauded by the Symmonds Plains fans and by all the other teams, as a race car driver who can still perform.<\/p>\n<h2>First Win for Lowndes since 2016<\/h2>\n<p>Lowndes, who for many took over the mantle in the passing of Peter Brock, had been on a &#8216;lean run&#8217;. Bereft of a race win since Race 17 at <em>Queensland Raceway<\/em> in 2016! That is a year and a half of hardship, for a man who has amassed a tremendous curriculum vitae of over 600 Production Car\/V8 Supercars races.<\/p>\n<p>He raced hard on Saturday, to follow his former team mate Jamie Whincup to second. Yet fans saw he had the speed and stamina which he hadn&#8217;t demonstrated in sometime. And then on the Sunday he went out in qualifying, and put his car onto Pole Position.<\/p>\n<p>From there, Lowndes was able to dictate terms on Sunday. He only real challenge came from kiwi driver <strong>Scott McLaughlin<\/strong>. The <strong>DJR Team Penski<\/strong> driver did his best, but once overtaken, was only able to keep Lowndes in sight while holding off Jamie Whincup [third place].<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ladies and gentleman, your Tasmania SuperSprint winer is \ud83e\udd41 CRAIG LOWNDES! \ud83c\udf89 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ezl8FnZ2ue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/ezl8FnZ2ue<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Autobarn888?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Autobarn888<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/VASC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#VASC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kQSi2tJdgL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/kQSi2tJdgL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Triple Eight Race Engineering (@tripleeightaus) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tripleeightaus\/status\/982869155203305473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With 106 race wins to his credit, <em>the kid<\/em> who <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Craig_Lowndes\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">joined the Championship in 1996<\/a>, has become the man. Known to be a cool character, for his ability to drive in adverse conditions and his run of victories at <em>Bathurst<\/em>, this race win will be a personal boost after some lean periods.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;This will give him faith again, that he can win races.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Look for a resurgence from Craig Lowndes for the rest of the year,&#8221; was the call from his former adversary <strong>Mark Skaife<\/strong>. The two drivers have a long history, but all across Australian motorsport, Lowndes is respected as one of the best drivers.<\/p>\n<p>And for the championships sake, a competitive Craig Lowndes, can only make the racing that much better.<\/p>\n<h2>2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship standings<\/h2>\n<p>The results today, where Craig Lowndes showed he has plenty of fire left in his belly, was polar opposite to series leader <strong>Shane van Ginsberg<\/strong>. His dramas with a faulty accelerator pedal only demoted his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supercars.com\/championship\/2018-virgin-australia-supercars-championship-points\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">place on the ladder<\/a>; down to fifth place (below <strong>Mobil1 Boost Mobile<\/strong> driver <strong>James Courtney<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p>After eight races, the new series leader is Jamie Whincup. His consistency is showing reward, with a couple of race wins to his name. That is above an second-equal placing for McLaughlin and\u00a0<strong>Erebus Penrite Racing<\/strong> driver, <strong>David Reynolds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h4>VASC Points table: <em>Top Ten<\/em><\/h4>\n<h5><strong>Whincup 658<\/strong> | McLaughlin 647 | Reybolds 647 | Courtney 624 | van Gisbergen 618 | Lowndes 597 | Scott Pye 589 | Nick Percat 505 | Chaz Mostert 494 | Tim Slade 479<\/h5>\n<p>With the next race scheduled for April 20-22, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supercars.com\/2018-wd-40-phillip-island-500-schedule-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WD-40 Phillip Island 500<\/a> should be another interesting step. With more than six winning drivers so far, the parity of the class and it&#8217;s competitive nature, it should offer fans more entertainment on the highly respected race track in <em>Melbourne<\/em>, Victoria.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MAIN PHOTO:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a id=\"BI7PXbQiRgxbMCGgU9zB7w\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.in\/detail\/943206814\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'BI7PXbQiRgxbMCGgU9zB7w',sig:'1kWgtY0sm2m0jA5ayRjyyCr_GM36rDCCTTzD2t4VQ8g=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'943206814',caption: true ,tld:'in',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint was a welcome back to form, for one of Australia&#8217;s favourite motorsport sons. In two races held at Simmons Plains Raceway, fans could see that there was plenty of &#8216;fire&#8217; left in the belly of Craig Lowndes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1383,"featured_media":3996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"714","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,215,865],"tags":[223,500,879,878,211,838],"class_list":["post-3975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","category-touring-car","category-v8-supercars","tag-craig-lowndes","tag-holden-commodore","tag-mark-skaife","tag-symmons-plains-raceway","tag-v8-supercars","tag-virgin-australia-v8-supercars-series"],"modified_by":"Sudha Sundar","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1383"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}