Lowndes calls for more night racing

Craig Lowndes hopes the Red Rooster Sydney SuperNight 300 this weekend will be the catalyst for more night racing in the Supercars calendar.

The veteran, who recently announced that he will abandon full-time driving at the end of 2018, is gearing up for the first night race on Australian soil in 21 years.

Lowndes won Sydney 's last night meeting, which doubled its category debut in 1996, but missed the Calder event the following year.

Sydney's last night race was the vision of former supercars boss, James Warburton, with 60 temporary lighting towers illuminating the Western Sydney stadium.

Lowndes won in 1996

"The concept is great, I would like to see more night racing," said Lowndes before the weekend, which will culminate in a single 300km race Saturday night.

"I think we have good circuits, a great atmosphere like Darwin, Townsville"

"I think it allows families to get to the circuits later, do their homework or whatever it is. During the day, then to relax and watch us. "

" The cars are shining, the discs on the brakes are turning on and I think that's a very different element.

Lowndes is the only pilot in the field who was on the field today, Sydney in 1996, and one of 13 to have participated in the last Supercars night race, held in Abu Dhabi in 2011. [19659012] Lowndes in Abu Dhabi in 2011 ” width=”100%” clbad=”size-medium wp-image-354559″/> Lowndes in Abu Dhabi in 2011

He had a more recent driving experience in the dark in GT cars at races such as Bathurst 12 hours and Spa 24 hours

"Having the depth of perception of the corners, markers of braking, lines, turns, all this really needs to be considered, "he said.

"I've been lucky I'm looking forward to the challenges."

Lowndes' teammate, Triple Eight, Shane van Gisbergen, is the most experienced Supercars night racer thanks to his GT's efforts in recent years. [19659002] In addition to Bathurst and Spa, he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in the United States