WHEN Craig Lowndes made his retirement from full-time driving in the Supercars Championship he didn't expect to find himself as a lead driver at a Bathurst 1000 anytime soon.
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However, that opportunity has come around this Sunday for the seven-time Bathurst 1000 champion as he leads the Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard entry alongside current Super2 series leader Declan Fraser.
Lowndes' full-time Supercars retirement meant he'd quickly become one of the premier co-driver options for endurance races on the calendar, giving a driver from the series one of the most decorated legends of the race to compete alongside.
But Lowndes comes back to Bathurst in NSW's Central West this week not only as a lead driver but with one of the most exciting rising prospects in the country alongside him.
The pair greeted media and fans during Tuesday afternoon's livery unveiling on their Commodore ZB, which features a collage of portraits of hundreds Supercars fans from across the country.
It's the support of those fans that Lowndes always looks forward to on his journeys to Bathurst, and he believes it will be a different experience coming back to Mount Panorama as the lead driver once again.
"Any time you can come back to be part of this race weekend is unbelievable. The atmosphere, the people, and the support we get as a racing fraternity is amazing when we come here," he said.
"The racetrack is among one of the best in the world. This is race I've always wanted to win and I've been lucky enough to win it a couple of times now. This weekend is no different, and having Decca around - who's young, bright and fast - is great.
"It's been two years since I've been a lead driver so it's going to feel a little different. I have to focus on qualifying, getting speed out of the car and hopefully getting Decca up to speed as the weekend goes along.
"He's doing double duties, so he'll be doing plenty of miles. The focus for me is now qualifying."
Wildcard have not fared well at the Mount over the past three seasons but the Lowndes-Fraser combination presents as the most dangerous wildcard combination yet.
With the backing of Triple Eight Race Engineering Lowndes knows he'll have a very competitive car to work with, one that's capable of dealing with any conditions that come their way.
"The clouds are starting to roll in. We've had good weather over the last couple of days but we're almost certain to have some rain over this week," he said.
"If we can make the smart calls and do the simple things right we'll definitely be in with a showing at the end of the day."
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Lowndes is aiming to win the Bathurst 1000 this year with a fifth different co-driver, after winning the Bathurst classic with Greg Murphy, Jamie Whincup, Mark Skaife and Steven Richards.
Since his latest Bathurst 1000 win in 2018 - his last season of full-time Supercars racing - Lowndes has finished fourth on two occasions, each time alongside Whincup.
Lowndes said that while he naturally misses the excitement of a full season's racing he believes his current arrangement has its advantages.
"It recharges the batteries because you always turn up fresh and eager," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to this weekend. We've got Roland Dane back on board as our team manager and young Declan's on board.
"You also don't turn up with a good year or a bad year behind you. We come into this weekend just fully focused on trying to win Bathurst."
