Lowndes Audi R8 LMS the ‘danger man’ at Phillip Island Aus GT

Melbourne Performance Cenre Press Release

Lowndes the ‘danger man’ at Phillip Island

Melbourne Performance Centre - Preview Rnd#5 Australian GT Championship
Phillip Island, September 21-23, 2012

Just four short months ago the Australian GT Championship conducted its second round at the Phillip Island circuit, and that time around the conditions were anything but favourable. This coming weekend the series will return for their fifth round, and whilst Victoria’s weather can be unpredictable at the best of times during Spring, for the title contenders, the prediction is stormy.. and that storm will arrive in the form of the hottest driver on Australian shores right now.. Craig Lowndes.

Just over a month ago Melbourne Performance Centre revealed that they’d negotiated an arrangement with Audi Australia, One World Bar and Pirelli to put the V8 Supercar star back behind the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT3 for the first time since his ill-fated Bathurst 12-Hour assault in February.

Teamed with reigning GT champion Mark Eddy and recent Sandown 500 race winning co-driver Warren Luff, the Pheonix Racing supported crew were in sight of going one better than their 2011 runner-up result before mid-race contact ended their run prematurely.

Lowndes has never made a secret of the fact that he would like to pursue other forms of motorsport beyond his V8 Supercar career, and he has proven to be particularly fond of the Audi R8, in fact last season as a result of his second placed finish in the Bathurst 12-Hour, Lowndes and Luff were invited to compete on the famed Nurburgring. Driving the Team Audi Race Experience R8, Lowndes and Luff were inside the top ten during qualifying before a back-marker moved across on the five-time Bathurst winner and forced their car out of the event.

“I am very pleased to be stepping back into an Audi R8 LMS again, and particularly at a track like Phillip Island,” Craig Lowndes said.

“I’ve enjoyed my two outings with the factory Audi team at Bathurst in the 12-Hour but have yet to win in the car, so hopefully Phillip Island will give me the chance. The guys at Melbourne Performance Centre have been involved with the factory cars all the way, so I expect we will be very competitive again. I am looking forward to it.”

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to work with Craig again,” Melbourne Performance Centre’s Troy Russell agreed. “The two Pheonix cars that ran at Bathurst this year were still in the country on the promotional circuit for Audi, so we approached Audi Australia about the idea, and together with Rod Salmon’s One World Bar, Pirelli Australia and the Audi Driving Experience, we put the deal together to have Craig back in the car.”

Lowndes is the form driver in V8 Supercars at present, having won four of his last five races [he was second to team-mate Jamie Whincup in the other] including last weekend’s opening endurance round, the Sandown 500.

As a ‘seeded’ driver, Lowndes will incur additional time penalties during his pitstop, but unlike other ‘seeded’ drivers, Lowndes will not be sharing driving duties, so he is expected to be a real threat, more so if Victoria’s Spring weather turns nasty.

“I’m really looking forward to the weekend,” Lowndes team-mate and fellow One World Bar pilot Rod Salmon admitted. “To have Craig’s input into the R8 will be invaluable, and being able to overlay data between his car and mine can only help my progression,”

 

Lowndes won’t be the only new addition to the Audi ranks at Phillip Island, with former V8 Supercar team-owner John Briggs having taken delivery of a ‘new’ car from Germany. The former Mosler pilot has struggled with a number of niggling issues with the British designed sportscar, and has unfinished business with GT. The opportunity to get himself an R8 was too good to pass up.

“I bought a Mosler [MT900 GT3] last year because they looked like a good thing, with lots of torque and lots of power and whilst I haven’t had the best of runs, that’s been down to little niggling things, but the reason for my change to Audi has a lot to do with logistics and time,” Briggs admitted.

“When we took on the Mosler it was part of a package that included a second team, so we were sharing resources, transport and infrastructure - all the things that are important if you’re going to be competitive, but that situation changed.

“I like to be a little hands-on with my own team, especially with Mark McLaughlin who has been with me for years engineering the car, but to run our own car, maintain it and transport it as a single-car operation was too much work, so the chance to run with Melbourne Performance Centre [MPC] in an Audi R8 was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

“MPC are a fantastic operation, they’re a great team of guys who know what they’re doing, and with the support of the Audi Sport Customer Racing team back in Germany, it was a real no-brainer. Not only did they have the car, but they can maintain it and they can transport it and have everything they need on tap to keep it operational, from spares to direct access to the factory on the phone if there’s anything they can’t deal with themselves.

“The car is just fantastic. I’ve driven it a couple of times now at Phillip Island, and to be honest, if you told me it was brand new and had never been driven, I would have believed you. Apart from the chassis, the roll-cage and the roof, I think they replaced just about everything - it’s immaculate. 

“It’s also fantastic to drive, the aero and mechanical grip it has is amazing, and the mid-corner speed and grip is incredible. The Mosler was fantastic to drive, especially the raw power and the torque, but the Audi is so typically German, it’s just a precision instrument, but then again, I suppose they’re renowned for that.

“I’d also like to welcome two new supporters to my team too,” Briggs added. “Audi Centre Brisbane and East Coast Car Rentals will be with me for the next part of this journey, and we’re all excited about what’s ahead.”

Cars are on circuit this Friday (September 21) for opening practice, with the first of the three sessions underway at 10:25am.

Melbourne Performance Centre is proudly supported by One World Bar, Pirelli Australia, The Audi Race Experience, PH Motorsport Trailers - supplier of the new Audi Sports Customer racing transporter, BluFi Wireless Australia, Questek Australia and Top Gun Restorations.

Rnd#5 2012 Australian GT Championship - Phillip Island
Event Schedule:

Friday, September 21, 2012
Practice 1; 10:25 - 10:45 (20 mins)
Practice 2; 12:40 - 13:00 (20 mins)
Practice 3; 15:30 - 15:50 (20 mins)

Saturday September 15, 2012
Qualifying; 12:05 - 12:30 (30 mins)
Race One; 15:55 (1-Hour)

Sunday September 16, 2012
Warm-up; 12:15 (10 mins)
Race Two; 14:40 (1-Hour)

2012 Australian GT Championship - calendar
Rnd#1, 1-4 March - Clipsal, Adelaide, SA
Rnd#2, 25-27 May - Phillip Island, Victoria
Rnd#3, 22-24 June - Winton, Victoria
Rnd#4, 13-15 July - Eastern Creek, Sydney, NSW
Rnd#5, 21-23 September - Phillip Island, Victoria
Rnd#6,19-21 October - Gold Coast, Queensland
Rnd#7, 30-2 December - Homebush, Sydney, NSW

2012 Australian GT Championship - series points
(after round four of seven)
1. Peter Hackett (Mercedes-Benz) - 101 points
2. Klark Quinn (Porsche) - 95
3. Peter Edwards (Ferrari) - 86
4. Greg Crick  (Dodge Viper) - 56
5. Ben Eggleston (Aston Martin) - 54
6. Roger Lago (Lamborghini) - 52
7. James Brock (Mercedes Benz/Mosler) - 47
8. Tony Quinn (Ferrari/Mosler) - 36
9. Nick O'Halloran (Ferrari) - 22
9. Jim Manolios/Rod Wilson (Corvette) - 22
11. Ash Samadi (Mosler) - 21
12. John Briggs (Audi R8 LMS) - 19
13. Kevin Weeks (Ford GT) - 15
14. Mark Eddy (Audi R8 LMS) - 15
15. Rod Salmon (Audi R8 LMS) - 14
16. Peter Conroy (Audi R8 LMS) – 13

Melbourne Performance Centre
Since 2004, Victorian motorsport enthusiasts Lee Burley and Troy Russell have operated Melbourne Performance Centre [MPC], a professional motorsport operation dedicated to ‘gentleman’ [and lady] racers. 

Their business model is simple; to provide fellow enthusiasts and competitors a range of services [that includes a Mainline AWD1500 4WD dynometer] that will enhance their experience with the sport, from the build, preparation and engineering of race cars, to transportation and support at the circuit.

Audi Driving Experience
Get behind the wheel yourself to discover a new level of excitement with the Audi Driving Experience. Refine your technique, develop more skilled control at higher speeds and pursue the ultimate in performance.

From advanced programs, right through to the Audi race experience, there is a program to suit every kind of driver.

The Audi Driving Experience makes use of a range of Audi’s vehicles, from sports road cars right through to their Bathurst winning race vehicles. From Audi’s advanced driving courses, you can move through to the Audi sportscar experience and finally, the Audi race experience where you can slip behind the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 racecar that holds the mantel of Australian GT and Bathurst 12-Hour Champion.

To find out more, call Melbourne Performance Centre today.

Melbourne Performance Centre
521 Mountain Highway,
Bayswater VIC 3153
Phone: 03 9738 2294
Fax: 03 9738 2296
info@melbourneperformance.com
www.melbourneperformance.com