Supercars star Craig Lowndes' decision to retire from full-time racing at the end of the year will only boost his value to his team, ex-teammate Greg Murphy believes.
Lowndes will continue on as an endurance co-driver for Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2019, with team owner Roland Dane yet to decide whether to partner the six-time Bathurst champion with Jamie Whincup or Shane Van Gisbergen.
Whincup won three Bathurst titles with Lowndes in 2006, '07 and '08 but has a well established co-driver partnership with Paul Dumbrell which has already delivered the 2012 Bathurst 1000 and two Sandown 500 titles.