Motorsport: Five pairings that could win Bathurst 1000

Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen. Photo / Greg Henderson

1 Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes

Between the pair they have 11 Bathurst wins (Whincup four and Lowndes seven), so they know what it takes to win the great race. In the negative column Lowndes has been away from fulltime racing and Whincup has let a few wins slip through his fingers due to either mechanical issues or his own decision making. However, both could probably put in a good qualifying lap blindfolded.

2 Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander

Van Gisbergen had a Bathurst 100 race win snatched away from at the last minute while leading due to a mechanical failure and is desperate to get a win to go with his 2016 Supercars championship. Tander may not be a main game driver anymore but he's been racing almost fulltime in other categories so is match fit. The other small thing is that he's also a three-time Bathurst winner.

3 Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat

Pretty much summed up in the main story. McLaughlin has a huge point's lead so can chuck the kitchen sink at winning and wants Premat to do the same. Premat is a safe pair of hands and is quick on the mountain.

4 David Reynolds and Luke Youlden

This pair won in 2017, had the race sorted last year until Reynolds had a physical failure, and have shown good pace in practice this year. That was until Youlden put the car into the wall during Thursday practice. If the team can sort the car out and get it back to the rocket it's been recently they'll be quick. This is the sort of race that Reynolds rises to and as he's not really a contender for the Supercars title will be able to hammer and tongs at getting a win.

5 Chaz Mostert and James Moffat

These two are outsiders. Mostert is a proven winner having cleaned up in 2014 with Paul Morris. Mostert is third in the Supercars' championship and would be very keen to get the 300 points. He showed in his 2014 win that you can be a few seconds quicker than your co-driver and still win. Moffat is generally a safe pair of hands and as long as if he doesn't try to run with the main game speedsters, will be a solid performer.