Bathurst 1000 – Warm up & Race 27 Results
Zach Bates/Craig Lowndes – Car #888
Warm Up -26th (2:07.1703)
Race 27 – 10th
“Today was an incredible day on so many levels. It started off with the driver parade – an extraordinary experience. It was very special to do that with Craig. Getting into the race, Craig started and had a good opening stint – it was pretty chaotic from the get-go, but it was nothing compared to the rest of the race.”
“He put it in a great spot for me and did a fantastic job when it started to rain with slicks on. After he handed over to me, I was basically driving in the rain for the rest of the race. I made a couple of errors that I’m a bit disappointed about, but in the overall scheme of things, I got the hang of it by the end, and we were able to finish 10th. I was comfortable in the car by the end and tried to bring it up a few more spots, but didn’t want to risk any damage or falling further back.”
“You set little expectations of where you want to be, and my aim was to be in the 10. The whole week’s just been incredible – what an experience, I’m very lucky to be able to do something like this, and the team has been amazing. I don’t have many words that can express how this feels. I’m so grateful to Supercheap Auto and Triple Eight for their support, Craig for his guidance, and the Bathurst fans for staying out in the rain today.”
“I actually got a really good start today, we had a little bit of contact early on with Garth and a couple of other cars, which we were trying to minimise. Early in the first stint, I was stuck in traffic, so I tried to fuel save as much as possible. It started off dry, and then it got very wet. It has been a hell of a day because at one point, we were going well. Then we were a lap down. We got that back, and then of course, the rain came through.”
“The car was working really well across the top of the mountain. By the final driver change, I would have liked to have handed it over a bit further up, but of course, the attrition of this race, everything and anything happened – there was a lot of carnage going on. Zach drove the wheels off it, and I’m proud of him. It was great to have another successful wildcard campaign, and to finish in the top 10 at Bathurst is really, really special for me.”
“Zach has been quite incredible. There’s no doubt that he’s had a tough couple of weeks leading into this, and to block that out is impressive, and to have five generations of the Bates family rally around him and give him the strength that he needed was very special. He’s a credit to himself and his achievements this year with the Supercheap Auto Wildcard.”
“Starting my last Bathurst 1000 with Triple Eight was one of those moments that I’ll always remember; it’s a chapter now closed after two decades. The quality of the car that the team build, the dedication and the performance that the team have had over those two decades is incredible. It was really special to see the car come across the finish line in 10th today.”