Craig Lowndes signs with Team 18

With Team 18 taking over from Triple Eight Race Engineering as GM’s homologation team next year, Craig Lowndes has elected to maintain his strong relationship with GM by signing with Charlie Schwerkolt’s squad for two years. The deal will see Lowndes serve as main driver for Team 18’s Supercheap Auto-sponsored wildcard entry in Ryco Enduro Cup races from 2026.

“It’s an incredible honour to welcome Craig Lowndes and Supercheap Auto to Team 18,” said team owner Charlie Schwerkolt.

“To go from a single-car customer entry in 2013, to now running a wildcard for one of the most legendary names in Supercars, it’s a proud moment for every person in our organisation.

“We’ll be throwing everything at this program to ensure it’s competitive from day one. The standard set by Triple Eight with this wildcard over the past few years has been exceptional, and we’re committed to carrying that legacy forward.”

Team 18 will be the fifth team Lowndes has raced for in his Supercars career, after the Holden Racing Team (1994-2000), Gibson Motorsport (2001-02), Ford Performance Racing (2003-04) and Triple Eight Race Engineering (2005-25).

“Joining Team 18 was the right move for me, being the new homologation team and my strong relationship with GM,” said Lowndes. “It’s going to be a big change, but there are a lot of familiar faces in there. Seeing what Team 18 and Charlie have built in their workshop, it’s first class.”

After retiring from full-time driving at the end of 2018 with three V8 Supercar Championships and seven Bathurst 1000 wins, Lowndes has been a part of Triple Eight’s wildcard entry since 2022, with a best result at Bathurst of fifth in the same year, partnering Declan Fraser. For his final start with Triple Eight at Bathurst this October, Lowndes will share the Supercheap Auto-branded wildcard entry with reigning Super2 Champion, Zach Bates.

"Supercheap Auto have shown their commitment to the [wildcard] program and moving forward,” Lowndes added. “So I am excited to continue to work alongside them, GM and now Team 18 to help continue and develop young drivers in their path in motorsport."