Two Ferrari offers lie on the table for Craig Lowndes as the V8 Supercars star edges closer to his debut appearance in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The 39-year-old Lowndes, who describes racing at Le Mans as the fulfilment of a life-long dream, is working on locking down a budget for the race.
Next year will mark the second in a row in which the V8 Supercars Championship does not clash with the French classic.
This year’s Bathurst 12 Hour wil see Lowndes switch from driving Audi R8s to handling a Ferrari 458 GT3 for Maranello Motorsports.
The five-times Bathurst 1000 champion will share the Ferrari with Mika Salo, John Bowe and car owner Peter Edwards.
According to Lowndes, getting accustomed to the Italian equipment will be a direct build-up to Le Mans.
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“The two options are in the GT class, so its a matter of which one,” he told Speedcafe.com.
“The whole purpose of why we are doing the Maranello thing at the Bathurst 12 Hour is hopefully that it will lead in to an opportunity at Le Mans with them (Ferrari).
“For me its a two-fold approach. Either team will be in a Ferrari outfit but its just a matter of which one.”
Fellow Australian Jason Bright made his Le Mans debut at the wheel of an 8Star entered Ferrari this year, while other 458 World Endurance Championship regulars include AF Corse, which will run a car in the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Lowndes is determined to not only make his debut at La Sarthe but to be competitive and finish the race.
“I don’t know the track and I need to learn it, but I just don’t want to go there and circulate.”
Lowndes is using his GT experience as a potential stepping stone to a drive in an LMP1 car at Le Mans in 2015.
