He will make the journey down from Alice Springs to Aputula (Finke) and back with experienced co-driver Dale Moscatt, who has competed in the Dakar Rally, by his side.
Taking instructions from Moscatt, though, is a little different to hearing from an engineer every so often while one laps a race track in a Supercar.
“I’m excited because it’s my first time but, for Dale, it’s been a number of times,” said the seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner.
“So, a little bit different; we’ve done some offroad racing before and I’ve been to Finke a number of times as a spectator.
“[I have been] Lucky enough to have a couple of runs around the prologue, but I’ve never actually had a chance to run down the track.
Secure your spot today.
“We’ve done a number of test days in the truck so it’s sort of, for me, just getting familiarised with what the actual capabilities of what the Silverado can handle,” added Lowndes.
“But also, I’m not used to having someone sitting beside me throwing directions at me – it’s normally from a pit lane – so [I am] getting used to having someone beside me but also to understand that whole language, which is really foreign for me.”
Moscatt has competed in the Dakar Rally, including as navigator to Molly Taylor, and boasts two Australian Rally Championship titles.
It is that more conventional rally experience, as opposed to rally-raid/endurance, which he is hoping will provide an edge at Finke.
“The course is very specific and everyone talks about the whoops and the main sandy sections at Finke but the course is actually very diverse and there’s a lot of places where this machine’s going to be amazing,” he said of the Silverado.
“I’m really looking forward to the big, fast rally sections in the middle of the course and there’s some big, banked, sandy berms and stuff.
“[We will] throw some good roosters [ie ‘rooster tails’] out, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
On pace notes more specifically, he explained, “The way these systems work in a normal offroad event, as we have in Australian Offroad, you get one pre-run or reconnaissance run over the course and a lot of people will just put down dangers along the way.
“I’m fortunate enough to have a very strong rally background and I’m used to calling pace notes and describing everything along the way, so we’ve got pace notes – if you want to call them that – to tell you how fast to be everywhere.
“Obviously, you put all those safety aspects in as well because you’re never going to make it to the other end if you don’t think about safety as well.
“We’re both more mature these days and hopefully smart enough to know where to back off as well as where to push and enjoy ourselves.
“I’ve got notes from previous years which Craig’s enjoyed in our tests and understands that now so we’ll use those notes.
“It’s 225-odd kays down there and we’ve got 119 pages’ worth of notes for that, so we’ve got a big long book to read on the way down, and the same again obviously to come back because it’s almost a reverse on the way back.
“It’s a long course – we’re going to be expecting a few hours in the truck each way – so it’s a lot of concentration from both sides of the car.
“You work together as a team and try and stay concentrated and focused, the whole way.”
Competition partner Rampex, which is based in Melbourne, is supporting the entry, while Hall Racing in the USA has contributed to suspension development.
The 2024 Finke Desert Race starts with scrutineering on Friday, June 7, followed by the Prologue on June 8.
Discussion about this post