Craig Lowndes backs KL City Grand Prix

Lowndes and four other drivers from the championship competed in three 20-minute exhibition races, which were held on a technical and entertaining 3.2KM street circuit carved out from the busy roads of downtown Kuala Lumpur. With the Petronas Towers providing a stunning backdrop for Friday practice, Craig was the first car to hit the circuit in his #888 Red Bull Holden, although as luck would have it, heavy rain and wet weather tyres kept him to a conservative pace. After qualifying second for the opening challenge race on Saturday, Lowndes had to settle for fifth following a puncture. On Sunday he claimed third and fifth in the final exhibition runs of the weekend which ended with some celebratory burnouts. “The circuit hasn’t under delivered, I think for us it’s been a great experience,” said Lowndes, who was also impressed by the enthusiastic atmosphere around the event. “The circuit itself is quite technical and quite bumpy. It’s definitely a gusty circuit and it needs a little bit of respect. If it was a championship weekend we’d be pushing a little harder, but this year it’s all about learning and understanding and to put on a good show. Overall it really is a good circuit for our cars. “The atmosphere is awesome and the locals have welcomed us with open arms since we arrived at the start of the week. It’s also really great to have Aussie icons like V8 Supercars racing right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. Team Owner Roland Dane also threw his support behind the event saying: “From a V8 Supercars point of view it’s been a really good experience overall and we’ve enjoyed coming to the KL City Grand Prix, even if we’ve got hot and sticky doing it. We’ve enjoyed it and it’s been good fun to be here so I think it’s got a lot of scope for the future.” Red Bull Racing Australia are next in action at the Sydney Motorsport Park SuperSprint which begins on August 21.