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Craig Lowndes honours 'mate' Peter Brock


Lowndes grew up in the shadow of Brock from his father's garage to the racetrack. Like so many in the sport he was devastated by his hero's death.

"Peter was more than just a teammate to me. He taught me an enormous amount about racing and about life. It's a terrible loss."

Those words, choked out as the news of Brock's death swept Australia last month, encapsulate his feelings as the field of 31 cars arrives at Mt Panorama for the Bathurst 1000.

And with the specially crafted silver Peter Brock Trophy to be presented to this year's winner, Lowndes and his Betta Electrical teammate Jamie Whincup have been installed as the bookies' race favourite.

"Everyone will want to have their name on that trophy," Lowndes said yesterday.

"My focus is to be the first.

"We'll always remember him. He'll always be with us. But, for now, the best way to honour him is to try to focus on what we are doing here. To try to win the race."

Lowndes hasn't won Bathurst since 1996, his first and only win. But last year he looked to be a runaway winner before he clipped a wall and then, later, was hit by a flying tyre.

"Last year we made a mistake. But hopefully we don't make mistakes twice," Lowndes said.

"The car is better than last year, our preparation is better than last year.

"We believe our car is not going to be slower. It's just a matter of how much faster everyone else is."

Lowndes revealed Team Betta meetings prior to the big race will canvas almost every possible scenario prior to the race.

"Whether we get a good start and lead or whether we get a bad start and drop back in the pack we need to evaluate every possible outcome," he said.

"But at the same time we have to wait to see what happens.

"We will have a basic plan. How fast. What pace. How many laps out of the full tanks. We will work from that strategy and try to structure it as much as we can.

"But at the same time we have to be flexible. As the race goes on we have to head into every area with some sort of understanding of what we are trying to achieve."

Lowndes concedes winning the Peter Brock Trophy won't be easy.

"When I won in 1996 there were probably four to six cars potentially good enough or fast enough to win," he said.

"This year that number has risen to 12-20.

"The depth of the field is greater and the race is now a sprint because the cars are fast and reliable and will cope with all the punishment we give them over 161 laps."