Craig Lowndes is young, talented and also a Bathurst winner - some call him the new Brock. But he only has one win, and is pretty keen to double his score this year. We asked Brock to interview Lowndes for us, and he took to the job like a duck to water.

PB: Did you feel a bit raw in those early years?

CL: I did. Actually it was quite interesting, I remember the first time we did an endurance race with Bradley Jones, we went to Sandown - but Sandown was probably more comforting because I knew the circuit, I had been there instructing with Jim Murcott. Bathurst was a more daunting thing.

PB: Did Bradley help you?

CL: In a little way. We were pretty good in that respect, we did the 12-Hour early that year, 1994, because we hoped …

PB: Who was we? Was it you and Nat (Craig's wife)?

CL: It was actually two brothers and myself.

PB: Exactly! We.

CL: I guess I struggled a lot the week leading up to the Bathurst 1994 in respect of getting up to actual car speed. I remember sitting down with you in the back of a garage there, trying to figure it out. I think I had a doughnut in one hand, Bev (Brock) was frowning at me at the time, because I had the doughnut ready to go into my mouth and I was trying to figure out how to pick up a second and a half around Bathurst.

PB: And she probably said the first thing you gotta do is don't eat that doughnut.

CL: I remember you explaining the track from Skyline right down to Forrest Elbow which is where I was having the biggest problem. I remember going around the first time after we had spoken and driving slowly down that section of the racetrack and seeing every scratch, every bump, every marking on the walls you had explained.

PB: Did I confuse you, or did I help?

CL: No, actually it was a big help.

PB: That's good.

CL: It was an exciting time, there was a lot of pressure on us at the time because it was my big break.

PB: There were some big expectations.

CL: Yeah, I mean you are this young kid and I guess the team sort of felt that they had taken a bit of a risk, putting me in.

PB: Yeah, because it wasn't done in those days, using a young driver. It was just the start of the youth policy.

CL: It was. I remember making the mistake on the Sunday morning warm-up, Wayne Gardner followed me into the wall, it was just out of Repco on Mountain Straight. And that was when the big headache was how long the engine was running without oil pressure, because I had knocked off the front oil cooler.

PB: I think you ended up doing pretty well in that race.

CL: I remember Brad coming in for a pitstop and then he did a double stint during the day, which meant that I had to finish the race.

PB: Unusual, but that's the way it worked out.

CL: It is unusual, it wasn't planned like that, we did pretty well. I remember chasing Bowe.

PB: I recall Bowe saying that when you passed him under brakes somewhere into Mountain Straight, he couldn't believe his eyes. He said 'who is this, what's going on here?'.

CL: Over the radio, it was all 'finish the race, don't do anything stupid'. The end result was that we were running out of fuel and we could consolidate it.

PB: You and the team management made this decision. Why do 'we' do this?

CL: Enjoyment. You would have seen some changes happen over the period of time.

PB: I have. I must say the actual lines through the corners have never changed, they have remained blind crests and brows. To me it's always been the greatest challenge that exists, and one of the reasons I say that is that you can go around The Mountain doing a pretty good job, and then you might say I'll have a real go. All of a sudden you can pull maybe half a second, three quarters of second, maybe a second, just from that commitment. One of the great things about the track is the reward. That's what I found anyway.

CL: Dad's got some great old 8 mm footage from the early days. I think pitlane was non-existent, it was a yellow line. There were no speed limiters, and those air jacks!

PB: That was heavy duty technology. We used wheel braces and the Sidchrome wheel master, and the Holden Dealer Team welded this circular thing on the outside with a ball bearing on the back, and you hung onto the ball bearing [makes big circles with his hands]. Your dad probably made them! Yeah, it's come along way, certainly the track itself hasn't changed in character except for the kink in Conrod Straight. The top of The Mountain is the big deal.

CL: I always remember Dad saying to me, you spend a third of the time coming down and two thirds of the time getting up it.

PB: That's about it. The other thing about the track too, is that it has certain critical corners, and a lot of people don't nut that out. Obviously over the years you have to pre-organise but Craig, just one thing here, you won it in 1996, big year for you in 1996, and you haven't won it since. You must be thinking it would be a good idea to win at The Mountain again.

CL: It has crossed my mind, we [Brock laughs at the 'we'] have been close, when we have finished we have been in the top six.

PB: That's all right, but it's not the finish 'we' want. The top six is OK, but you don't really want to go home and tell your mates down the pub, when they ask how did you go on the weekend, 'yeah I finished off sixth', 'fair enough it's your shout', they'd say.

CL: Winning is an amazing feeling, and as you mentioned I have experienced it only once, but standing on that podium at the end of the day, knowing that you have done 8 hours of grueling driving and there are maybe 15 to 20,000 people on the track. It is amazing.

PB: Being on the podium watching the crowd down there, particularly if it's what you would call a popular win - when the right people, the fastest drivers won (you can get some mixed results with mechanical breakdowns and pace-cars and crashes and stuff like that) - when you have raced fair and square, you are the quickest car, you have the best pitstops, and on the day you just delivered, there is no feeling like it. There is often talk about some of these other races having that status and some drivers have said 'oh it is no big deal'. I am not talking about merchandising sales or bums on seats, because you can't take away from the fact that The Mountain is the single most difficult bit of road you have to race on.

CL: I think it's quite amazing the way international drivers come out and try to show the local people how to drive, they think they are going to come out and conquer a circuit that many people here have spent years working on.

PB: Therefore for a racing car driver, the greater sense of achievement.

CL: Yes.

PB: How do you find the Australian public? What do they say about Bathurst here?

CL: I don't think it matters where you go in Australia, they all end up at Bathurst. There are people who have taken their families there for 30 odd years, there's the coat people, the palace which goes to the top of The Mountain - there is such a long history.

PB: Everybody knows about that track. It's the same way people know about a footy grand final or maybe a cricket test match: they know Bathurst. It's our big chance in motorsport to bring the sport to the vast majority of Australians. One would imagine that doing well at Bathurst is probably on your agenda? Do you talk about strategy to the guys or do you just let it all happen? What do you do?

CL: You always go there with a plan. But it was only 1996 that actually went according to the plan. Every other year you adjust or you have to be flexible as the day goes on, because something happens, a wheel falls off or whatever.

PB: So when the media say to you, 'how're you gonna go?', and 'what's your pit strategy?', the bottom line is, 'buggered if I know, what's gonna happen is what's gonna happen'. It's very difficult to explain that, isn't it? Do you like get out and go fast early, or are you are going to sit behind?

CL: Well if you are lucky enough to get out in front, then you've got 161 laps to do, safety car periods, pit stops coming. It's better than a dud start.

PB: What are your starts like these days?

CL: Not too good.

PB: I have looked at a couple lately, they were good, but I thought you could do better.

CL: Last year I used about 92 per cent throttle and slipped the clutch to get it off the line.

CL: Well it was almost flat out on the throttle, and I don't even think we had any wheel spin.

PB: How did you find out it was 92 per cent, Craig? Did you look up the data? Did you actually sit there and say 'I have 92 per cent reading on the dial, let's go'?

CL: I actually had 92 per cent on the dial when I dropped the clutch, but after that I probably had it flat, probably 100 per cent.

PB: People ask me often, how do you win Bathurst? First thing you do is don't stall it, just drop the clutch, get a good start, buff up the back tyres, whatever you do don't let it bog down.

CL: You would have seen some classic crashes on the start lines.

PB: I have. I have been involved in some poor starts, with the engine almost dying when I underestimated the amount of load I had on board, the grip the tyres had, particularly if it was a warm day - if it's warm early it's a bit different. What about the condition of the track? As you go up through Reid Park early in the race you will quite often find that the track might be a little bit dirty, a bit of traffic has been on it. Tell me how you approach the first lap?

CL: If I have a good start and get out in front, I would probably attack it as hard as I can. If you're running second, third, fourth or in the top half dozen, you generally consolidate, sit back and relax a little bit, let the first couple of laps unfold; generally there is a runaway guy at the front.

PB: It's a nice feeling, good crowd. People underestimate the value of the crowd you cheering along. It's fantastic.

CL: It will be a little bit different for me this year, driving a Ford.

PB: Will you wind up your window?

CL: Depends if anything comes over the fence. I don't think it will, but they are very passionate.

PB: This is good though, it has injected a bit of life into the category. Are you happy where you are?

CL: I love where I am [making sure he doesn't say 'we' again for risk of Brock falling off chair laughing], I think the people out there are being very, very positive. I still get the odd email or comment that I'm a traitor or that I should have stayed at Holden. It's been pretty positive, I think a lot of people are now enthusiastic to see what happens. The racing is as tough as it was when I first started, but now the change is happening.

PB: As we are speaking you have just been for your first seating test in the new car. Looking good?

CL: Looking great, I sat in the car for four hours last night.

PB: Good paint job?

CL: We are finalising the bar work and then it will be painted over the weekend. We will debut it at the 500.

PB: Which 500 is this?

CL: The Queensland 500. It's taking the team a lot longer than we expected, it hasn't been as quick as we would have liked.

PB: Is that because you were making up your mind about a few things?

CL: Yeah, the dash, etc. The mechanical side of it has all been fine.

PB: [laughing] I thought you might have been talking about rollcages.

CL: No that's all been finalised, we haven't really detoured much from the original design. We have radically changed the car from the current car we are driving so it's just a matter of getting everything in place.

PB: So you've had a fairly good lead up to The Mountain?

CL: We really haven't done a lot of testing to date, maybe 4 or 5 days, if you have a really good day of testing, it's really worthwhile.

PB: People talk about sorting out a new car, but let's be honest - you can build a new car, and if it's any good within 5 laps it's on the numbers.

CL: Yes.

PB: Because you know where the starting points are. At HRT I don't think I ever had a new car which wasn't as fast or faster coming out of the box. Would you expect the same thing from your days so far at Ford?

Murphy and Lowndes in friendlier days

CL: I would. I think once we get a base line - take the two cars out, base line with the old car, and drive the new car - once we find out the difference in the chassis and what sort of spring rate differences there will be, I think we will be able to see the difference in the car.

PB: If I mention these words to you, just tell me what you reckon: are you driving around the problem?

CL: Yes. I have seen you do it.

PB: Done it myself, part of the art of driving. It is finding the happy balance between overcoming a problem the car may have by your driving technique, versus saying 'if we change this it would go faster'. Have you carried problems in a car, sometimes a bit too long?

CL: I think we have, there are situations when you pair up with other drivers and there is a fine line between what you like, and what your partner likes.

PB: Some people would say, 'no fix that, I can't cope'. How you feel about the car makes an enormous difference. If you like the car, everything is going to fall into place. The car, the colour scheme, the dash, the whole lot. You sit in that car and you truly believe that this car is better, somewhere along the line it is better. There is no doubt about it. I remember when your dad and Ian Tate put together the XU1 Torana in 1972, it had a brand new colour scheme and we sat there in the workshop looking at the car. That car won many races, it was immediately a second lap faster and we never touched it! Mechanically it was the same damn car and I remember looking at this car thinking 'this is going to win'. There was no doubt in my mind it was just the deal, and it never changes does it?

CL: No, there are some colour schemes you think you like, or you're not fussed about. Then there are some cars that come out every now and then and you think 'what's this?'.

PB: If you get the team supporting that, and good morale, that's when the magic happens. I like having a big wand where you can see the speedo dial rather than digital numbers jumping up because your mind can't comprehend it. It's part of play to use analogue instruments, because they know that your eye and your brain can't comprehend it as accurately and quickly as numbers.

CL: The first time I came across digital was when I jumped into a V8 car, everything else I grew up with was analogue.

PB: Then again I suppose these days, the most important part of a dashboard is the lights flashing up and telling you when to change gears. Do you push the clutch in?

CL: No I don't actually.

PB: Ever?

CL: Only on down shifts.

PB: What about pitlane?

CL: Not at 40 km/h, you feel like getting out and pushing it.

PB: It is so slow, it is just outrageous. This has been happening forever, 40 km/h is just bizarre, you can go slow, but 40 km/h is such a slow speed, oh well, it's what we have, but don't ever get a stop-go penalty.

CL: Not with the lengths of some of the pitlanes now.

PB: Michael Schumacher was quoted as saying recently the mechanics used to abuse his car. He said 'I always hop in my racing car, and I actually talk to it, I say it's OK car, we are going to go around the track, we are looking good'. Do you ever do that?

CL: I have done it, I do it. I sit in the car when you really have to stretch your limits and get the one lap out of it, that perfect lap. It doesn't happen often but when it does it's very, very sweet. Again it's up to the individual, if you believe that someone is helping you along.

PB: It's a matter of getting everything around you as good as you possibly can. That's my way of looking at it, and if you are going to have some aggravation hanging around you, get rid of it, whatever your technique might be.

CL: When you won your first Bathurst, did you think you would win another one?