F1 car smashes Bathurst record

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A Formula One car has set a new record at Bathurst – lapping Australia's world-famous motor racing circuit nearly 20 seconds faster than a V8 Supercar.

The unofficial time of 1 minute 48 seconds was set by 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button, who was driving the first modern Formula One car to take to the hallowed track.

Button's time, set in a 2008 McLaren, surpasses the previous fastest time clocked by a V8 Supercar, a 2min 6sec achieved by Craig Lowndes last year in a Holden Commodore.

Five-times Bathurst winner Lowndes was only a second slower than the Briton when given his first taste of a Formula One car as part of a special driver-swap event run by Vodafone, the title sponsor for both Button's McLaren team and Lowndes' V8 Supercar outfit.

Lowndes says the F1 car is impressive compared with a V8 Supercar.

"When I first went out it was the acceleration [that amazed me] but when you go through turn two you really realise how much acceleration you have," he says. "In comparison the V8 [Supercar] seems to labour up the mountain.

Lowndes says he relished the chance to drive the car, admitting he's not expecting a call from a Formula One team.

"No, it's about 14 years too late [to get a chance in F1] but it's extremely satisfying to drive a car that's purpose built for speed and precision. It was a rush of a feeling."

Jenson Button  suggested the idea of running an F1 car around Bathurst, but says the circuit's undulating nature wasn't without its challenges.

"I could hardly turn the wheel coming into the turn [for Conrod Straight] and it was a bit scary down the straight with it being so bumpy," says Button. "The bit I really enjoyed was from about turn five onwards as you start going up the hill. That section was a real buzz.

"This is an iconic race track and it's great to celebrate the unofficial fastest lap in an F1 car."

- Sydney Morning Herald

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Craig Lowndes told SPEED about the brutality of the Formula One car around Bathurst as he recovered from three thrilling laps around Australia's greatest race track, in one of the worlds most spectacular race cars.

With only 650kgs compared to 1350kgs in his V8 Supercar, and some 750 horsepower, the Formula One car is a very different animal. Add to that the immense downforce that sees the cars pull between four and fives Gs in the corners, compared to his Commodore's two, there is a world of difference.

For Craig Lowndes, who came within a second and a half of Jenson Button's lap time, riding around at an average speed of 210km/hr just millimetres from the ground was the hairiest part.

"Jenson said I had to lift my bum and he was right!" Lowndes said.

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"I had to lift it coming down Conrod because the plank was giving the ground a big hit from Forrest Elbow all the way down to the Chase it hits you bang-bang bang."

Lowndes went to Europe in 1997 for a tilt at the European circuit and eventually F1, but like so many Australian talents, money simply ran out. He says he was amazed by the performance of the car, and grateful for the opportunity to run in Formula One, even if that chance was 14 years too late.



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"Just getting a feel for the car and knowing what it can do is the biggest thing.

"Knowing how it brakes and all that stuff, it's quite an experience just to have the opportunity but then to find where the car likes to be run, leaning the gears, learning the torque curve of the car, the whole lot really, it's just a fantastic experience.

"I'd love to do it more often!"

With a hint of disappointment in his voice, Lowndes explained that the car didn't approach the previously predicted 360km/hr mark.

"I think we got up to just over 300km/hr, I don't think it was geared for much more, but it would have been good if we could gear it for Bathurst," he said.

Lowndes says he'd jump at the chance to have the 2009 Formula One world champion in his car at Bathurst.

"Nah I'd get rid of Skaife!" he joked.

"Jenson has always shown interest in Australia and now he's here he loves it so it would be great to get him back here and to have a driver of his calibre here would be excellent.

"He's got to sort things out with the calendar and with McLaren before he even thinks about it, but we'd have him here in a flash."