Holden or Ford? Lowndes' D-Day arrives tomorrow
3/9/2000 18:07 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - It is, by far, the biggest domestic Motorsport story in history. And tomorrow, D-Day will arrive.
Craig Lowndes HAS made the biggest decision in his Motorsport career, and will reveal that decision to an eagerly-anticipating motorsport public tomorrow afternoon.
Lowndes has been torn between his HRT mount and an opportunity to defect to the Ford camp for the 2001 Shell Championship Series and beyond.
His future with the Factory Holden operation – which took him to three title wins – is looking increasingly insecure, with rumours rife that the 26-year-old is leaning towards a Ford drive for the 2001 season.
Should the immensely-popular Holden hero leave HRT, the move would be the biggest and more significant defection in Australian Motorsport history.
Almost all of the top-line Ford teams have been linked with Lowndes at some stage during this mid-season/silly-season hysteria, including Ford-Tickford Racing, Stone Brothers Racing and Dick Johnson Racing.
The most likely option would be at the Gold Coast Stone Brothers garage. With seats expected to be vacated within the team (perhaps forcibly), and the location ideal for Lowndes’ new Gold Coast residence (it is believed the travel to HRT’s Melbourne headquarters is becoming increasingly tiresome for Lowndes), the Brothers Stone could prove very attractive.
Dick Johnson Racing is also based on the southern side of Brisbane, and although the futures of Steven Johnson and Paul Radisich don’t appear to be at threat, there has been talk of “secret” meetings between Lowndes and Dick Johnson over the past few weeks.
Either way, Ford boss Geoff Polities has said publicly Lowndes would be extremely well-compensated for making the move, a move Polities hopes will resurrect the Blue Oval V8 Supercar campaign.
However, money is certainly no object at Holden either, and General Motors will pay Lowndes handsomely for remaining a Lion.
It seems the fire still burns in Lowndes for overseas competition, and with Ford having Formula 1 and Indy Car connections, this may also be a deciding factor for Lowndes. A full-time American Le Mans seat with the giant Panoz outfit is another possibility.
Whatever the decision, expect a bombshell when Lowndes announces his career plans for beyond 2000 tomorrow.
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