Timeline: 20 years of Lowndes and Triple Eight

Craig Lowndes and Triple Eight Race Engineering have been a formidable partnership over 20 years, with driver and team combining for Bathurst glory, championship battles and countless wins.

Tuesday's news that Lowndes will depart Triple Eight at the end of 2025 puts a full stop on an unprecedented relationship in Australian motorsport that has run for two decades.

The three-time champion joined Triple Eight from the battling Ford Performance Racing in 2005, and won the team's first ever race in Supercars in Sydney.

Across the next 20 years, Lowndes won Bathurst six times, finished in the top three overall on seven occasions, and carved out an unmatchable legacy.

After retiring from full-time Supercars competition following the 2018 season, Lowndes remained with Triple Eight as a co-driver, and has led the team's enduro wildcard since 2022.

This year’s Repco Bathurst 1000 will double as Lowndes’ 32nd consecutive start, and his 21st as a Triple Eight driver.

20 years of Craig Lowndes and Triple Eight

August 2004: Lowndes announces Triple Eight deal, departing the underperforming Ford Performance Racing at the end of 2004 to join Roland Dane's team.

May 2005: Lowndes takes Triple Eight’s first Supercars race win at Eastern Creek, now known as Sydney Motorsport Park. He won six races in 2005 and finished second overall, his best result since winning the title in 1999.

October 2006: Lowndes and Jamie Whincup take Triple Eight’s first of a record 10 Bathurst victories. The win came in emotional scenes, just weeks after the death of Lowndes' mentor and Bathurst legend, Peter Brock.

December 2006: Lowndes loses the championship in controversial scenes to Rick Kelly at Phillip Island. The duo were level on points going into the final race, with contact from Kelly ruling Lowndes out of contention.

July 2009: After adding Bathurst wins in 2007 and 2008, Triple Eight announces a blockbuster move to Holden. It returned Lowndes to the General for the first time since 2000.

October 2010: Lowndes wins his first Bathurst in a Holden since 1996, combining with Mark Skaife to lead a Triple Eight form finish.

March 2012: Lowndes extends with Triple Eight to the end of 2015. He finishes second to Whincup in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

March 2015: Lowndes signs a new deal with Triple Eight to drive a third car to the end of 2017, amid the team's signing of Shane van Gisbergen.

June 2015: Becomes first driver in Supercars history to record 100 championship race wins. Wins a sixth Bathurst 1000 in October, and finishes second overall at age 41.

May 2017: Lowndes extends his driving deal to the end of 2019 amid questions over his racing future.

July 2018: On the eve of the Townsville 400, Lowndes announces his full-time Supercars retirement, despite 18 months remaining on his Triple Eight deal. He wins a seventh Bathurst 1000 just three months later, and finishes his final season in fourth overall.

August 2019: Lowndes extends his Triple Eight deal to the end of 2021, partnering Whincup in the enduros. Whincup/Lowndes win at the Gold Coast and Sandown in 2019, and finish fourth in the 2019 and 2021 Bathurst 1000s.

June 2022: Lowndes is announced in Triple Eight's enduro wildcard alongside Declan Fraser. Lowndes/Fraser finish eighth in Bathurst, the best Great Race result by a wildcard.

August 2023: Lowndes extends Triple Eight deal to 2025, taking the partnership between driver and team into 20 years.

March 2025: Lowndes announces he will not renew his contract with Triple Eight beyond 2025, just weeks after the team announced it will move to Ford in 2026.