Lowndes began his association with GM in 1994 when he joined the Holden Racing Team and finished second on his Bathurst 1000 debut with Brad Jones.
In 1996, he joined the Holden Racing Team full-time and went on to win the title that year before a short-lived European sojourn to race in Formula 3000 in 1997.
He returned in 1998 and won the Supercars championship that year and went back-to-back with his 1999 triumph.
Lowndes has crossed the divide before. In 2001, he made the shock switch to Ford. It took six years to enjoy the ultimate triumph with the brand, winning the 2006 Bathurst 1000.
But ever since Triple Eight ditched the blue oval to join Holden in 2010, Lowndes has bled red.
With Triple Eight Race Engineering’s impending move back to Ford, there was potentially the chance Lowndes could have joined the team in jumping brands – again.
However, the 50-year-old has committed himself to General Motors for the foreseeable future – a deal that looks set to see him continue in Supercars driving a Chevrolet Camaro in some capacity.
In a short video posted by Chevrolet Racing to social media, Lowndes said he weighed up going to Ford but ultimately decided not to follow Triple Eight.
“To be honest, I have been in both camps over my career but really my alliance has been with GM,” said Lowndes.
“I started with GM when I first started in ’96 and for me it’s just really one of those manufacturers that I have really been able to grow with and really just embrace.
“So when we heard the news that Triple Eight were moving across to Ford next year, it was sort of one of those processes.
“We had to understand what that looked like. It’s been now almost six weeks since that announcement.
“So really for us it was looking to see what’s on the table from everyone. But for me now looking back on it, the GM brand is where I want to be.”
Where Lowndes lands is still to be confirmed. However, with PremiAir Racing firming to replace Triple Eight as the General Motors homologation team, there are persistent rumours that the seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner will wind up there too.
Lowndes’ last Bathurst 1000 with Triple Eight will be alongside Zach Bates onboard a Supercheap Auto-backed wildcard carrying the iconic #888 he’s become synonymous with.
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