Lowndes: Qualifying all-important at Barbagallo.

After a disappointing opening round to the 2007 V8 Supercar Series, Craig Lowndes is determined to get his season back on track in round two at Barbagallo but, while confident of challenging for top spot, he admits that the new-look qualifying session could be the biggest hurdle this weekend.

Sub one-minute laps around the low-grip 2.415km circuit make clear runs essential for a decent grid position and, although Lowndes set the Perth track's current V8 Supercar qualifying record in his first year with Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2005, he acknowledged that clean progression through the elimination-style format introduced for 2007 would be key to success later in the weekend.

"Barbagallo Raceway is probably the hardest track to qualify on, as you have 31 cars all lapping within a second on a relatively small circuit," the Team Vodafone pilot said, "We are going to have to be on the pace from the start and it will be critical to get a good lap early on in the first section."

Two top three finishes from three races in 2006 at Barbagallo ensures the Triple Eight team is confident when it comes to set-up, and Lowndes knows that a blend of pace and consistency will be vital if he is to turn around his average Clipsal 500 result and make inroads into the top ten.

"I am very confident that we will see a major improvement," he said, "The issues we had in Adelaide have been rectified and we know we have a good race package for
Barbagallo. The one thing we will need to watch is tyre wear, as we are visiting the track two months earlier than normal there is a good chance that temperatures could reach the high 30s."

As well as new qualifying and scoring systems introduced for this year, the drivers will also face a new race format at Barbagallo, with three 50-lap races to be run over Saturday and Sunday, and Lowndes team-mate Jamie Whincup is looking to add to his impressive haul from the Clipsal weekend.

With 45 points next to his name, the young star has quickly established himself as a top contender for the season, and believes his improved level of fitness has been a major contributing factor.

"Being race fit has never been so important for a driver," Whincup insisted, "With cars so equal in lap times and performance, everyone is searching for an edge over the competition, and physical and mental fitness plays a major role. I'm looking forward to racing at Barbagallo, I definitely want to improve on last year's result and build on the championship point score we earned at Adelaide."