Supercars great Craig Lowndes will take on the Australian outback when he makes his debut in the Finke Desert Race

Craig Lowndes is a seven-time winner of the Bathurst 1000, but the Supercars great says it’s nothing like the “really foreign” conditions he will face when he takes on the harsh desert in one of Australia’s biggest off-road events.

Craig Lowndes has conquered the Bathurst 1000 seven times in V8’s showpiece event at Mount Panorama, but the Supercars legend admits he will be faced with a “different world” when he takes on the harsh Australian desert behind the wheel.

The three-time Supercars champion will make his debut in the Finke Desert Race in the Northern Territory when he will swap circuit bitumen for red dust and testing rocky terrain next weekend.

Lowndes will team up with experienced navigator Dale Moscatt in a Chevrolet Silverado in the Production 4WD class for the off-road event in Central Australia.

Australia’s smaller scale answer to the famous Dakar Rally, the Finke Desert Race is a multi-terrain event for cars, bikes and buggies held over two days through the red centre from Alice Springs to Aputula (Finke).

While Lowndes has almost 700 Supercars race starts behind him, the Supercars Hall of Farmer said racing in the desert would be a “ really foreign” experience for him.

“I did the Australasian Safari back in 2010, which was very successful, and that was my first real opportunity to race on dirt instead of bitumen,” Lowndes said.

“That was the first time that I’ve had a navigator that has sat beside me giving me directions.

“The Finke is brand new for me. I have done a couple of Prologue demonstrations and been out there and involved as a spectator, but as a competitor this is the first time.

“It’s going to be exciting because it is really foreign for me.

Craig Lowndes and Dale Moscatt gearing up for the 2024 edition of Finke. Picture: Supplied

“It is just a completely different world. I have always admired what rally guys have done and how they go about their business, so it’s great to be able to have this opportunity.”

The Finke event follows a course about 229 km each way from Alice Springs and back in conditions Lowndes said would throw everything at the competitors.

He will get an early taste of the Finke track this week with Moscatt, who has competed in the Dakar Rally and is a two-time Australian Rally champion.

“You go from a sandy base to what they describe as a bit of a rocky rally section in the middle part and then it goes back into sand dunes and then it finishes off down at Aputula going through a river bend and get to the finish line,” Lowndes said.

“So there are a lot of variations of terrain that we cover and we’ll encounter.

“We have got Tuesday and Wednesday to run down the course and to actually start plotting and understanding where all the big jumps are and where all the whoops are.

“ (Moscatt) has done it (Finke) a couple of times so he has got plenty of notes about what previous years have been done in the sense of where things were, but of course natural terrain things are going to move.

“Ours is a production based car or truck, so it’s going to be driving to the conditions. It’s not like a trophy truck where you can smash over everything.

“I believe there are a couple of big hills and jumps that we need to be very mindful of, again being a production-based vehicle, that we are not going to be able to get too much air.”

The GMSV Silverado Craig Lowndes will race in the Finke Desert Race. Picture: Supplied

Lowndes’ Finke campaign will start with the Prologue on Saturday, which will determine the duo’s starting position for the two-day race.

The Triple Eight endurance driver will spend about three hours behind the wheel each day, but the pair has a four-hour window to complete each leg of the course.

Lowndes conceded he was going to have to adjust his normal driving style from Supercars to ensure the pair’s vehicle can make it through the testing terrain in one piece.

“That’s something again that I’ve got to be very mindful of not to push the truck too hard, too early, break something or have a problem then we have to fix it on the side,” Lowndes said.

“There are all these little things that I am getting my head around and understanding because I’m so used to bitumen and circuit racing that you just drive the Supercars hard from start to finish.

“So for me, I’ve actually got to pull back a little bit and not over commit and just drive it to what I see …. we are going to have to drive it to a limit and make sure that we get down to Aputula first.

“Then the return leg on Monday will sort of be a different program because we’ll at that stage know how hard we can actually push the Silverado.”

After his Finke campaign, Lowndes will team with young gun Cooper Murray in a Triple Eight wildcard for this year’s endurance races at Sandown and the Bathurst 1000.

The pair tested at Queensland Raceway last week and Lowndes already felt positive about their prospects.

“It was the first time that I have had an opportunity to work closely with Cooper, which was really good,” Lowndes said.

“He did 90 per cent of the day, obviously getting ready for Darwin (wildcard).

“The way that he reads and wants the car is very similar so that is a good start, he is quite clear on what he wants, which is really positive.”

Originally published as Supercars great Craig Lowndes will take on the Australian outback when he makes his debut in the Finke Desert Race