Now the seven-time winner is hoping some of his luck rubs off on Holden teammate Jamie Whincup at 2019's Great Race.

Excitement is building for Lowndes as he prepares to jump back behind the wheel and defend his Bathurst 1000 title next month after the three-time series champion retired from full-time Supercars racing last year.

No wonder.

Mount Panorama has been a happy hunting ground for the 45-year-old who is equal second on the list of all-time Great Race winners, just two victories behind his idol and record nine-time champion Peter Brock.

Unfortunately his teammate Whincup can't say the same.

While the Holden star has been King of the Mountain four times, he last savoured victory back in 2012 and has only experienced heartache since despite rattling off a record seven championship wins.

He ran out of fuel while leading in 2014, endured a double stack pit-lane drama in 2015, copped a race penalty that denied him victory in 2016 and suffered engine trouble in 2017.

Just when Whincup thought he had seen it all, a wheel fell off to end his 2018 campaign.

"Hopefully I can rub a bit of luck on Jamie who has had a few years of bad luck," Lowndes told AAP.

"We have a very similar feel for a car and drive it in a similar way, so in that regard I think it will work really well - it's a strong combination."

Lowndes has won two of the last four Bathurst titles with Steven Richards.

But he is also no slouch with Whincup, combining to win three straight Bathurst titles from 2006-08.

"We are getting the band back together," Lowndes said of his Whincup reunion at the Bathurst 1000 launch in Sydney on Wednesday.

"We have had success in the past and it is no secret that I am happy we are back together."

Lowndes is now a full-time TV commentator but has signed on as a co-driver for Whincup's Triple Eight team for the Supercars' endurance rounds until 2021.

It gives him ample time to try and equal, if not break, Brock's remarkable record.

Not that he was thinking about it before October 13's Great Race.

"Not really to be honest. I just want to provide good support for Jamie," he said.

"The car is exactly the same as the way I left it last year so hopefully I will get up to speed really quick.

"But I will probably be very nervous standing in the garage at the end of the race watching Jamie bring it home."

Australian Associated Press