Lowndes: The key to mastering Surfers Paradise

Mastering the Gold Coast’s tricky kerbs is key to performance, says Craig Lowndes.

Next weekend, the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit will host its first race event since 2019.

It is the third street circuit to host Supercars in 2022 after Albert Park and Townsville.

Townsville’s major kerbs are medium- to slow-speed, but still offer a major challenge.

However, the intensity rises to another level at Surfers Paradise, with the high-speed chicanes featuring large kerbs.

The Turn 1-2-3 chicane features a major kerb on driver’s right.

The beachside Turn 6-7-8-9-10 chicane is one of the more unique corners on the calendar.

There are four major kerbs, the last seeing drivers slide towards the concrete on the right.

According to Lowndes, how a car responds to the kerbs and plants itself back down onto the circuit is key to performance.

However, Lowndes alluded to the 2019 fate of Scott McLaughlin as to how drivers can get greedy.

“It’s about getting the kerbs right,” Lowndes said on Supercars Trackside.

“Especially that first one… we saw Scotty have that massive shunt a couple of years ago.

“He just pushed that little bit too hard. You can overstep the boundary really quickly.

“Then the back chicane, the really fast series of lefts and rights.

“You need to get the car to absorb the landing and get traction off the corners.”

Next weekend’s event will also be the first for drivers with the Pedders Damper by SupaShock.

The new spring debuted in 2020, but has yet to be taken to Surfers Paradise.

How teams tune the cars across the kerbs will prove key to overall performance; notably, with drive out of corners.

“It’s going to be really interesting with the Pedders Supashock,” Lowndes added.

“We haven’t been there since it’s been introduced.

"It’s going to be a big challenge for that."