Lowndes, Goddard team up for Supercars wildcard entry

After Triple Eight Race Engineering entered a wildcard in the 2022 Bathurst 1000, they’re expanding the campaign for 2023, with an all-new #888 Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro to enter multiple races – with a new driver pairing.

After partnering Declan Fraser last year, Craig Lowndes will make his return, but Zane Goddard will be the new co-driver for 2023. Goddard lost his full-time seat at the end of the 2021 Supercars season, but was a co-driver with James Courtney at Tickford Racing for last year’s Bathurst 1000.

The Lowndes-Goddard pairing will enter this year’s Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 enduros in a Gen3 Camaro engineered by former Triple Eight engineer Wes McDougall.

At the Darwin Supercars round in June, Goddard raced the Camaro solo for 22nd, 21st and 24th results, giving the 23-year-old Queenslander valuable seat time ahead of the enduros.

Supercheap Auto remains as the primary sponsor for Triple Eight’s wildcard entry this year, with additional backing from ACDelco, Bendix, Bosch, Century Batteries, Sony, Sperling, TurtleWax and ToolPRO X.

"In Supercars, I’ve never had a brand-new car to race, so that’s a really cool experience,” Goddard said of the fresh Gen3 ride. "Usually, the cars I’ve had have been hand-me-downs from Jamie (Whincup) and Shane (van Gisbergen).

"To have a chance in the car to show what I can do is really cool."

Referring to Goddard’s hitout in Darwin, Lowndes acknowledged the importance of seat time under actual race conditions ahead of the enduro season.

"Any laps in these new cars are invaluable, and hopefully [Zane] gets more comfortable with the car and the team before enduro season really kicks off.

" Zane’s a fantastic young kid with great speed and a great head on his shoulders, and his return to the main game is truly deserved."

Last year’s wildcard combination of Fraser and Lowndes delivered an impressive eighth place at Bathurst, with Triple Eight team boss Jamie Whincup confident of another strong result this year.

"I think continuing with another unique combination of youth and experience with Zane and Craig at Sandown and Bathurst, will prove to be a competitive pairing.”