Audi factory GT driver Rene Rast will replace injured V8 Supercars star Craig Lowndes in next month’s Bathurst 12 Hour.
Triple Eight Holden driver Lowndes broke his collarbone while riding a motorcycle last weekend, and is facing a fight to be fit for the start of the V8 season in Adelaide in March.
It also means he will not race the Audi R8 he was due to share with fellow V8 Supercars champion Garth Tander and Steve McLaughlan on February 5-7.
The Melbourne Performance Centre team has moved quickly, enlisting Rast, who finished fifth in a Phoenix Racing Audi at Bathurst in 2014 with Laurens Vanthoor and Rahel Frey.
“We had to find a replacement driver to share the car, the phone was pretty busy when Craig announced he was out yesterday,” Tander said.
“We’ve secured one of Audi’s top level factory drivers in Rene Rast.
“It’s huge shoes to fill, but when you talk about GT racing in Europe this guy is number one.
“It says a lot about the race and how it’s growing that Audi are prepared to send a guy like him out.
“There’s going to be 40 cars, 15 V8 Supercars drivers and some of the best drivers from around the world. It’s not just a 12-hour cruise around.”
