'Couldn't believe we restarted': Lowndes' big call on Bend 'monsoon'

Craig Lowndes has just about seen it all across 33 years and 682 Repco Supercars Championship starts.

That includes just about every conceivable variable you could imagine, from absolute deluges at Adelaide in 2000 or Bathurst last year, to hail that left Sandown resembling an alpine resort in 2003.

But of all of his 682 starts, his most recent at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on Sunday might have been the most extreme of the lot.

After starting on a wet track, but with no rain falling, two deluges of rain lashed The Bend through the opening half of the race, when the vast majority of co-drivers started the race.

Lowndes was one of them, and when asked on Supercars' Equip Super Cool Down Lap if the conditions were the worst he'd ever experienced, he responded: "One of, I've got to say, and it's because it was so instant. It wasn't just a gradual dumping, it was just there, bang.

"That's what I think caught a lot of people out, even my first set of wets we had to come in and change it because we'd worn them out, and it definitely wouldn't have survived the conditions we had.

"Even in a full proper wet, the car was just okay, but as fast as it came in it cleared pretty quick too."

It was a wild opening stint for Lowndes as well, who was spun by Bryce Fullwood on lap 4, before charging his way back through the field, running as high as eighth before he handed over the reins to rookie Bayley Hall. Hall more than held his own in the wildcard Team 18 Camaro, with the pair finishing a strong 12th, and the fourth best Chevrolet.

"Considering we had two spins, a couple of other offs, and then that's probably the wisdom of a couple of other cars out there today, Actually, I got turned around at the start, too," Lowndes added.

"Actually the car was really good. In the full wet, when it bucketed down like it was like a monsoon, actually I can tell you it was a monsoon because we were aquaplaning down the main straight, the car was actually really good.

"Then we started to dry out, and both times it was a little bit on edge, and then of course we waited for the track to dry out to put Bayley in.

"So I was meant to do like 60 laps, ended up doing 80 laps, so I think I'm prepped and ready to go for Bathurst."

Experience showed in the wet conditions, with the likes of Fabian Coulthard, Will Davison, and Tim Slade all putting in phenomenal drives in appalling conditions.

Lowndes was no exception, revealing that he found plenty of gains on Safety Car restarts heading into the first corner, though admitting that every single move was dicey in the driving rain.

"I was having fun! The funny thing is there was a wall of spray of water, and it was white. But then in the skylight, the sky was white as well, so you couldn't actually see the difference between sky and track," Lowndes said.

"It was sort of semi-fun when we restarted, and I couldn't believe we restarted. Anyway, we restarted.

"I'm going down the left hand side of the traditional racing line thinking, 'All of these monkeys are all going to migrate across into the infield,' to try and block and weave and do all this.

"I'm like, 'Oh yeah.' We're going up over the crest, oh there's Cam Waters, oh yeah bye. Oh yeah, there's Tommy Randle, oh yeah bye.

"All these monkeys have gone to the infield, and they all turned into a traffic jam. It was great."

Lowndes and Hall return for the Repco Bathurst 1000 on October 8-11.