Lowndes' new look revealed

The new Team Vortex colours under which V8 Supercars legend Craig Lowndes will race in 2016 have been revealed.

The defending Bathurst 1000 winner and 2015 championship runner-up moves from Red Bull backing to Caltex as V8 Supercars’ dominant operation, Triple Eight Race Engineering, expands from two to three Holden Commodores in 2016.

The expansion has been made to allow wild Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen to drive alongside six-times champion Jamie Whincup at Red Bull Racing.

The Team Vortex deal is said to be the richest in pitlane on a dollars-per-car basis and Lowndes will also be the centrepiece of national Caltex advertising and promotion for its premium fuel brand.

It is an expansion of Caltex’s existing deal with T8.

“Team Vortex is the beginning of a new chapter, further demonstrating our continued dedication and commitment to the V8 community. For our customers, look out for exciting new promotions with Vortex premium fuel as we celebrate Craig and Team Vortex taking to the track in 2016,” said Caltex Australia’s Executive General Manager Commercial, Bruce Rosengarten.

While Lowndes retains equal treatment and equipment compared to Whincup and van Gisbergen, the shift to the new colours also means moving into the garage next door at race meetings, a change of engineer and of team manager.

Will Davison will share garage space with Lowndes at races in the T8 customer Tekno Autosports Holden.

Calling the set-up shots for Lowndes will be T8’s brilliant French technical director Ludo Lacroix, who has been the mastermind behind the team’s vehicle development since it came into the category in 2003 as a Ford team.

Lowndes’ 2015 engineer Grant McPherson will work with van Gisbergen.

Lowndes’ championship attack will be managed by V8 veteran Andrew Simpson, who has been at T8 since 2012 primarily in a customer relations role, although he also ran the Xbox wildcard at Bathurst in 2013.

However, RBR team manager Mark Dutton will have overall control of the three car team back at the workshop.

Steven Richards will continue to co-drive with Lowndes in the endurance races later in the season.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better team around me heading into the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship,” Lowndes said in a press release.

“Both the team and I have a brilliant relationship with Caltex, so I couldn’t have been happier when I found out I’ll be driving the Team Vortex Holden.

“I’m really looking forward to getting on track and getting the 2016 season started at the Clipsal 500. Hopefully Steve Richards and I will be able to bring home the Bathurst trophy again later in the year, and really give Caltex and all our other sponsors a debut season to remember.”

The 2016 V8 Supercars Championship kicks off on the streets of Adelaide on March 4.