Lowndes will co-drive with series regular Jarrod Hughes in the TA2 Tag Team Enduro as part of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series event at the Ipswich venue on August 15-17.
Orchestrated by GM, the drive marks a rare appearance for the 51-year-old legend outside of the Supercars endurance events and annual Bathurst 12 Hour race for GT3 cars.
Lowndes described his first TA2 test at QR on Wednesday as “really enjoyable” and a throwback to the machines in which he started his touring car career.
“The car moves around,” Lowndes told Speedcafe of the TA2 series machine, which this year runs a Goodyear tyre as opposed to the Hoosier deployed in Trans Am.
“I think the good thing about it is the Goodyear tyre, everyone’s still learning about it, we’re doing a lot of things just trying to understand it, where’s the window, where it works best.
“But for me, it’s also about learning the braking, what its capabilities are.
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“I’ve got to say that the braking is probably better than what I was told. I felt like after three laps, the pedal would be at the floor, but it’s not.
“[It’s like being] back in the 90s, I reckon, because the side wall of the tyre moves around so much, and the car just takes a set,” he added.
“Once it does take a set, you can drive it off the corner. And that’s where I think, for me, it’s more the old school days of Supercars.”
The TA2/Trans Am machines feature a control tube space-frame chassis, a 6.2-litre GM V8 crate engine producing around 525bhp, a four-speed H-pattern gearbox and weigh 1250kg.
Rubber, though, is the category’s big technical point, as the 15-inch wheels are fitted with the a cross-ply construction tyre, rather than radials that have been commonplace in touring car racing for decades.
Lowndes says the Tag Team Enduro will be an enjoyable but competitive weekend, as he assists Hughes’ title bid.
“People always ask me, do you miss the driving?” he said.
“Yeah, you always miss the driving sense, and to get an opportunity to do it with TA2, it’s still in a competitive role but obviously the tension is not as high as, say, Supercars.
“But at the end of the day, you still want to win races, you still want to be competitive, so that doesn’t change.
“I think that through this program, you can still get that buzz and that fun, and then you get to drive with some young guys that hopefully have got a great opportunity to go forward.”
Lowndes will use the TA2 event to warm-up for his Supercars Endurance Cup duties alongside Zach Bates in Triple Eight’s Supercheap Auto-backed wildcard.
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