Hi Everyone,

As you may have already seen or heard, a new partnership between Triple Eight Race Engineering and Holden was announced this morning.

It represents a new era for the team, and will see Jamie and I racing Holden Commodores in the V8 Supercar Championship Series from 2010.

The news comes after last week’s announcement that Vodafone, Jamie and I had all re-signed with Triple Eight until at least the end of 2012.

Remaining with Triple Eight was my main priority for 2010. They’re the best team in the business and there’s no-one else I’d rather be racing for.

But the team has made a decision to change brands, which, unfortunately, means this will be the final year of my relationship with Ford, which dates back to 2001.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time as a Ford driver and ambassador.

On the track, we’ve achieved a lot of success together, with three-straight Bathurst wins and countless race and round victories. A championship has eluded us thus far, but we’ve been right in the thick of it in recent years and there is still a lot of racing to go in 2009.

Away from the track, I’ve met and worked with a lot of great people from Ford and have been proud to represent the brand for nine years.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to meet and receive fantastic support from so many passionate Ford fans, including many Lowndes Force members.

Starting this weekend with the Norton 360 Challenge at Sandown, I’ll be looking to conclude the Ford chapter of my career on a strong note.

We want a fourth-consecutive Bathurst win and I plan to fight for the championship until the end.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your ongoing support, and I hope to see you at the track soon.

Craig Lowndes

lowndes does have a gt cortina and it is sitting on display at the ford discovery centre in geelong. vic