'Nothing but good feelings': Craig Lowndes to depart Triple Eight at season's end after two decades with team
Updated . First published
Australian motor racing legend Craig Lowndes will depart Triple Eight Engineering at the end of the 2025 season after deciding not to renew his contract with the team.
Lowndes' relationship with Triple Eight has spanned two decades after he joined the embryonic racing team for the 2005 Supercars Championship.
The iconic relationship in Australian motorsport delivered both parties remarkable success through the 20-year journey.
READ MORE: 'Irresponsible' Knights clipped but Gus explains $14m 'gamble'
READ MORE: 'No need': Lloyd swipes Essendon over coach rumour
READ MORE: Aussie Olympian airlifted after serious World Cup crash
Craig Lowndes of the Triple Eight Race Engineering looks on ahead of the 2023 Bathurst 1000. Getty
Lowndes' achievements during his time with Triple Eight account for more than half of his total career victories, including 110 Supercars Championship race wins, six of his seven Bathurst 1000 wins and nine podium finishes in The Great Race.
"I have nothing but good feelings and great memories from my time at Triple Eight," Lowndes said in a statement.
"I have nothing but respect for them as a race team, engineering organisation and importantly the people with in — at all levels.
"This has been a very tough decision and one that has taken a lot of time and thought to work through. Loyalty has always been a key factor in my time with Triple Eight, but at this stage of my career, I think it is the best decision to make for my future."
The 50-year-old Lowndes retired from full-time Supercars competition after the 2018 season, however he continued to form part of Triple Eight's team in the Supercars endurance races as a co-driver.
Since 2022, Lowndes has also headed up the team's Supercheap Auto Wildcard program, which provides mentorship to young drivers competing in the Supercars endurance races.
The winning Triple Eight Racing entry of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup during the 2008 Bathurst 1000. EDGE Photographics
From 2026, Triple Eight will return to Ford after 15 years with General Motors and become the brand's Supercars Championship entry.
This would have complicated Lowndes' involvement in the Wilcard program role as he is a General Motors ambassador.
Lowndes will continue to race at a professional level, with plans to compete in 2026 and beyond. His next step is set to be announced by his management team in due course.
"It is rare that anyone works with the same people for ten years, let alone twenty, so to be able to look back on two decades with the same racing team and all the memories we have shared along the way is very special," Lowndes said of his exit.
"To be part of the team from their formative years and through to them becoming the powerhouse they are today has been the most fulfilling part of my career. During that [time] we have shared amazing success together and huge milestones in my career — I can only say, 'Thank you' to everyone who has been part of the journey, inside the team and beyond as well.
"We have a plan for the future and that plan includes continuing to drive competitively: however, right now 100 per cent of my focus is on the Supercars enduros with Zach Bates in the Supercheap Auto Wildcard and doing the best job we can to get a result in both races."
This October's Bathurst 1000 will mark Lowndes' final Bathurst start as a Triple Eight driver. He will pair with Super2 graduate Bates for his 32nd edition of the Great Race.
