Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes with firefighter Blake Ross became an honorary CFA member in Springvale last week.By Melissa Meehan
FOUR-TIME Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes revved up support for the CFA in Springvale last week.
Lowndes presented CFA members with 500 tickets to the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge V8 Supercars race this month, a gesture to thank the volunteers during their efforts on Black Saturday and the weeks following.
During his visit, he also learnt how to extinguish a fire, shoot a target with a high pressure fire hose, and completely dismantle a vehicle with road rescue cutting equipment.
Spokesperson for Norton 360, Matthew Drake said he hoped the tickets showed our gratitude for what they did in some small way. Lowndes, who grew up in Hurstbridge, near the fire-affected town of Kinglake, presented the tickets to Springvale station chief, Bernie Frawley, before being inducted as an honorary CFA member.
The three-time V8 Supercar Series Champion took part in a number of drills with the Springvale station members to get a better idea of life as a firefighter, including fire-hose skill work and using the jaws-of-life on a car.
Lowndes paid tribute to the CFA’s efforts and announced they would be the official Community Partner for the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge race weekend (31 July-2 August).
“Growing up in Hurstbridge I know only too well the great work the CFA does in our community, whether it be putting out bushfires or attending to road accidents,” Lowndes said.
“As a V8 Supercar driver, I know the importance of safe driving, so I encourage everyone to take care on the roads during these winter months to make the CFA’s job a little easier.”
The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge – the seventh event within the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship – gets underway on Friday 31 July at Sandown Raceway.
