Lowndes recalls injuries from horror Calder crash

Craig Lowndes has detailed the injuries and recovery process from his horrific Calder Park crash.

Lowndes suffered a knee injury in a dramatic rollover during the 1999 Calder Park event.

The infamous incident has been detailed in the first instalment of Supercars’ new Rewind podcast.

The then Holden Racing Team star had amassed a sizeable lead by the time the series arrived at Calder Park.

A poor start was followed by a tap, which resulted in a spectacular roll over.

The car, which was written off in the crash, was momentarily sent into the air and into an embankment.

Injuries ruled Lowndes out of the next round in Tasmania, but he returned to clinch his third and final drivers’ title.

Speaking on the Rewind podcast, which details the incident, Lowndes labelled the crash a “bad rollercoaster ride”.

“I put my right leg onto the brake pedal… that was me basically bracing myself,” he said.

“Thankfully, at that point, HRT and the category had started to look at more safety elements.

“I didn’t know where I was going… I remember all the sparks coming off the car.

“I put my hands on my helmet to protect my neck, because we didn’t have a HANS device.

Lowndes is tipped onto his side

“Then I started to barrel roll… it was like a bad rollercoaster ride, because I didn’t know where I was going.”

Rival drivers infamously parked their cars and ran to Lowndes’ aid.

Two such drivers were Neil Crompton and Garth Tander, who along with Lowndes, feature in Supercars broadcasts.

Given the magnitude of the frightening accident, Crompton initially feared for Lowndes’ health.

“He was as white as a ghost,” Crompton told the podcast.

“I knew he’d actually been hurt, but it was more about whether he’d been gravely hurt and needed serious intervention.

“It’s hard to detach the emotion… it is warfare out there, but there is a degree of religious camaraderie.

“We’d happily chop off each other’s fingers to steal a trophy, but there’s also a strange level of respect when it comes to looking after your brethren.

“It did a fair bit of damage to his knee, and it still lingers to this day."

Lowndes suffered a bruised elbow and torn ligaments in his left knee, which resulted in arthroscopic surgery.

A determined Lowndes was fitted with a knee brace and returned to the track.

It was there that teammate Mark Skaife, through Craig Kelly, referred Lowndes to renowned orthopaedic surgeon Julian Feller.

'My right arm almost went out the window'

Against the wishes of his team, Lowndes underwent surgery that evening, before undergoing intense rehabilitation.

HRT had a ready-made replacement, Lowndes’ enduro partner Cameron McConville, who subbed in at Symmons Plains.

“The doctor checked me over… my neck, my pelvis, my back, my elbow which luckily was bruised,” Lowndes recalled.

“He asked me if I could do a squat; I went to do a squat, and my left knee went out sideways.

“I asked the doctor to put it in a brace; I went back to the track to show people I was semi-okay.

“[Skaife] got me an appointment to see Julian the next day.

The extraction process Pic: AN1 Images

"He put his hand on the inside of my left knee, the other hand on the outside of my ankle, and could move it almost three to four inches.

“The pain that shot through my body… he said, ‘You’ve done some damage’.

“I went against the team and got [surgery] done that afternoon.

“I thought, ‘Bugger it, in 30 years’ time, I’m going to be thankful I made this decision’."

If not for safety enhancements, the outcome could have been far worse.

A HANS device would have protected Lowndes' neck, although little could have been done for his knee.

It was window netting, however, which prevented serious injuries to his arm, which he used to brace his neck.

Lowndes sealed the title in Bathurst

“The impact was heavy enough to put the car up on its side,” he said.

“It popped the tyre off the rim, and the rim dug in and it kept going on its roof.

“At that point, for me, it was all about trying to protect myself.

“I remember it clearly; as soon as it went onto its roof, the front windscreen shattered, glass was going all over me.

“Luckily I had a full-face helmet on with my visor closed.

"My right arm almost went out the window; my window net caught my arm.

“It kept it inside the cabin, otherwise I might not have a right arm."

Lowndes will return to the broadcast in Darwin on June 17-19. Purchase your event tickets now.