Where to for Lowndes and Crompton?

Does anybody know ahead of time what these two will be doing next year? Lowndes is reportedly leaving Holden Racing Team while Ford Tickford Racing are without Crompton next year.

If you do not know, interesting or silly suggestions will suffice.

Crompton: I thought i saw him signing up for a mircowave cookery class the other day... although in his spare time he might have a steer in a second Rodney Forbes Racing Commodore...

Lowndes: Is there any drive he has not been connected to? Apparently he is a definate starter at DJR, but i doubt that. He wont be at Kmart, he wont be at Perkins. Shell and FTR are the only Ford teams that can afford him. I have this strange feeling he wont be going anywhere...

As for who will replace Crompton: Ambrose and Canto seem to be in the picture.... a shame, because WW remains without a level one drive! Wake up team owners!:)

If Lowndes went to DJR who moves, or are we talking three cars?

I guess WW is Woolongong Wiz? I'd like to see him in a Ford. I'm just not cinvinced he'd do any better than Crompton.

heard lowndes might be going to a satellite hrt team - cant see the point though.
would like to see ambrose in 2nd ftr...

jason bright should drive with radisich at bathurst!
who is wakefield driving with at bathurst - could be his place to really impress crashtest!

Craig lowndes being part of a satelite team next year makes a lot of sense to me. He can i guess base the team in queensland where he lives as well as have all the help from hrt he needs.

I guess WW is Woolongong Wiz?

WAYNE WAKEFIELD!!

The latest is that the deal for him to run with Graphic Skills has fallen through for Bathurst ($$$) but he has picked up a drive somewhere else...might be a second JFR car...

HRT satelite team....was it a slwo week over at AA again last week??

A very slow week...they couldn't even get the easy stuff right.

Ouch, my earns hurt. Wayne the Commodore driver in the lites series? Seems to be regularly beaten by Canto and Besnard.

A second car for Faulkner Racing - the Assian economic crisis must have past.

Sorry to sound like Hitler, but around here people don't rag WW while my ears are open :);)

WW would have done a lot better in the series had he not had some absolutely shocking luck...and Besnard in an SBR prepared car...with all due respect a shaved ape could have won in it. WW's car is the one Tomas Mezera wrote off in his barrel roll at Bathurst 97, not exactly a top mount by any standards..

Enough leturing for today.:)

I heard that Faulkner's sponsorship was in a fair bit of trouble. Apparently Mr Faulkner is not the nicest man to get along with, and a fair few of his people have moved away from the team this season. Saying that, he was recently reported as saying that he has the budget for 1.75 cars for next season, and Macrow needs to find the 0.25.

Will try and find out the latest gossip on the weekend out at Lakeside...

Hopefully Lowndes' satellite team can be placed in orbit around the moon.

Does this wreak of John Bowe or what? Go from the security of one of the top 2 teams to a complete unknown...whoever it is must have some $$$ behind them (if they exist). Could it be Bill Gates stepping up to the plate?

If Lowndes was to leave HRT he is leaving the most consistent and professional team (in terms of results) in the business. To go where? He is also (I thought) contracted to Tom Walkinshaw for a period of 10 years. He must be at the end of the third by now, so some one would need to buy him out. On the other hand he is a commodity being very popular with the public (even us Ford fans to some extent) and would be an asset to any team.

From what i read a while ago, Walkinshaw doesn't want him any more, I think he was signed in 96, so there are 4 years down, 6 to go.

A few of the rumours:
Leaving HRT because they didnt treat him very well after his Calder stack last year.
Definately going to DJR.
Going to FTR because it is not HRT, they can afford him and they have a spare seat (a little daft).
Going to SBR because it is a local team.
Going to Ford so he can get a foot in the door with respect to an international drive.
Going to Kmart, which was near certain until they didn't want him.
This satelite team, he stays with Holden but not with HRT.
He wants more $$$ but HRT wont pay it.
Going to Larry for some unknown reason.
Stay where he is.
He hasn't talked to any of the Holden big wigs since he got a new manager.
His wife wants him to stay close to home.
He has been seen at a Ford dealership.
A Ford has been seen in his drive way.
No Ford team can afford him.
He's going to Indy Lites.

Blimey i don't know... :eek:

Far out - Crash Test, that really covers the options. For Craig I hope it is Indy Lites. As for Wlkinshaw not wanting him - how come, so he made a mess of an OS open wheeler drive, this was surely due to circumstances and not a lack of talent. Walkinshaw still needs someone to put in the second HRT car. Even I can see he has the talent to succeed over seas.

The only reason the Ford team thing might hold water is they (Ford) need a charasmatic name. I really like Seaton, have since he drove for his Dad, but he is hardly Mr Personality! And calling Radisich the Rat my work with kids but notme. Can't see the tie up with DJR though..

Maybe in addition to picking the first three finishers at Bathurst we should have a competition with the most likely place for Lowndes in 2001. It won't be Scott Dixons' Indy Light seat would it?

Apparently Mr Walkinshaw was peaved that he paid several million for him to do F3000, and got nothing for it. After that, he said that if he wanted to go his own way, it wouldnt bother him as he had spent all the money he will on Craig.

If Craig were to cut it in Europe he would have had have made it with all of the locals talking a different language, and a one bedroom appartment, and a non-family styled team....that's what it is all about over there.

I don't really think Mr Lowndes is also known as Mr Charisma...how come he doesn't do too many speaking roles on ads, or the goofies bit before the races for 10? The last time i saw him speak in front of a camera was at the Lakeside Lites round....and he made an absolute mess out of everything he said....and subsquently it wasn't shown on Tv. Admittedly HRT has groomed him well, back in 94 he could barely string 2 words together without stuttering or giggling like a school girl. If Ford want him, they want him for his driving talent. And possibly the knowledge he has of the hottest team in the field...

I won't go into the rest of it, but just to clear something up. Lowndes contract with TWR is management only not actual racing so he is not tied to HRT in any way other than his current contract which will be ending this year.

Elephino,

thanks for the management versus team clarification. Now please go into the rest of it.

The latest is that Lowndes will be staying with HRT. Apparently HRT will over ride the management contract, as TWR will be devoting more of it's tiem concentrating on it's F1 project, thus will leave HRT to run itself so to speak, and if they want Lowndes they can have him.

after all the talk lowndes has to go now - another year at hrt is boring, go to ford for the hell of it craig...get a % of all the merchandise you will help ftr sell....$$$$$$ for you and nat!.....

well who the hell knows what lowndes is doing next year. It could be Indy Lites or could be the ALMS or could be the great old V8. Time will tell and it could be a big surprise or could be just Hrt again. Whatever happens it will be for the best decesion for him (or not).

But a lites drive does make sense. Remember last year when he went for a test OS when Jason Bright did and he was only a fraction slower then Bright?

Then theres the ALMS drive in December and if he does well in that he could be sitting in one of those big beasts next year.

Well im sure we will find out soon what his plans are.

I got it, maybe he'll retire!!

UPDATE ON CROMPTON !!!!!!
He's starting a new lifestyles show on 10 about the couples he meets in his new business of nappy washing. Go Neil!!!
NOw.....
Then again, on a serious note he could replace Bazza in the commentators chair and put him back calling the bikes which at least he knows about.... Bazz still hasn't gotover saying what a great series this is, how close they are , How we alllove AVESCO............ how much is he paid to talk this thing up HUH?????

I thoght Bazza crapped on about how great it all was because he really belived in the Shell girls. It is somewhat suspect having channel 10 being a partner in the series. RPM is then one long commercial. No investigative or editorial content is shown regarding the behavour of drivers or AVESCO. If the decision was made to have the last race held in the local McDonalds car park Bill and Bazza would think it was all for the good of the sport.And in their best John Laws tradition they do not state their financial interest ( or rather that of the stations) before the telecast.

I guess I am still ****ed being relegated to the middle of the night broadcasting 3 guys running around in 10 year old "super tourers". Now there's a contradiction in terms. The only upside to this is the smile being wiped off Peter McKay's face when the low tech neanderthal series forced the super tourers into having to pay there relatives to watch them race.

This lead to a lot of family breakups.

You can now buy a second hand Australian super tourer for the price of a 10 year old taxi.

Lowndes will not be going overseas unless he can get a drive at Le Mans, in which case it would be for Le Mans only (not ALMS).

I guess that will depend on how he goes in Adelaide on New Year's Eve...

Narrh,

Lowndes is good at throwing arooung big V8's (certaining works for the great unwashed)but something with style.....

That's it, I'm coming out of retirement to race the XB GT in the sports sedans.

Lowndes F3000 season was considered a flop because he was hosed by his teammate, Juan Montoya no less. Who wouldn't have been hosed, the man is frighteningly quick, a freak.

I guess that is one definition of bad luck - having Jaun Pablo as your team mate.

Hello everyone. From my user name you can guess where I am from. I am a FORD supporter ,so we'll get that out of the way first.
I thought i would start off with a spot for Lowndes next year.
Team owner:Peter Brock(Lowndes mentor right from the start and has always said he would like his own team one day)
Second driver:James Brock(Future tourers are really nowhere)

Thank you, I needed a good laugh.

Why would Peter Brock start up ANOTHER team? He has already run his own team. Don't you remember those Sierras and BMWs and VN Commodores?

AND no-one in their right mind would give James Brock a full time V8 Supercar drive.

Saying that he is a helluva lot better then some of the drivers going around...

Welcome aboard mtpanorama:)

Well, ME and the boy would kick that Brock & Son 's arse 's all the way down Conrod!!!!!
I'm also thinking of starting a new team with Dazza & Big Kev as media manager's, Kerry Packer backing it, Mike Raymond head of pit crew and Kim Beazely as our PR man.
Yep, it'll be great.
We're gonna call it FAT *******S RACING.
And Suzie Ellerman as our " big tits in a small top promo" girl. Im off to spank the monkey!!!!!
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Urrh Allan

So unfortunate that we share the same first name!
Compared to some of the above combinations you could be onto something here, your definitely on something!

Tell you what, arrange the finance and we can both come out of retirement to race the Moffatt/Jones Falcon next season. My name is first on the windscreen though.