Craig Lowndes has rejoined the Audi Sport customer racing Australia team as part of the Jamec-Pem Racing squad for the 2016 endurance classic.
Lowndes is no stranger to Audi, the 2014 Bathurst 12-Hour winner having raced as part of the winning assault on the Mount Panorama event in both 2011 and 2012, finishing runner-up to current Jamec-Pem driver Christopher Mies in 2011, whilst he and team-mates Warren Luff and Mark Eddy were eliminated whilst in the lead pack during the 2012 event.
Bathurst however wasn’t Lowndes’ only outing in an Audi in 2012, the three-time V8 Supercar champion also putting in a cameo appearance at the fifth round of the Australian GT Championship at Phillip island, taking victory on debut against the might of Mercedes factory driver Maro Engel.
Audi will be back in 2016 with the all-new Audi R8 LMS GT3.
“I’m really looking forward to rejoining the Audi Sport customer racing Australia team at Bathurst,” Lowndes admitted. “For me there’s a little bit of unfinished business there after being on the cusp of victory a couple of times over the years, but I feel next year we have one of the most competitive new generation GT3 cars in the world and an opportunity to really take the fight to Ferrari and Nissan.”
The opportunity to have Lowndes back in an Audi was in part masterminded by Jamec-Pem team-boss Steve McLaughlan.
McLaughlan has played an integral part in Audi’s return to form in Australian GT, the Victorian also recruiting Mies as a part of his 2015 AGT title assault, a project which currently sees the German leading the championship by 65 points with one round remaining.
“No question, when the opportunity came up to have Craig back in the fold, I knew we had to put it together,” Mclaughlin explained.
“The new Audi has already proven to be a success, so we want to launch the new car here in Australia at Bathurst with the best chance of taking victory, and in my mind, that meant having Craig back in the team to go after that elusive third victory.”
Christopger Mies and Christopher Haase are expected to headline the second Jamec Pem Audi.
