KEY POINTS:
This year's Bathurst 1000 at the daunting Mt Panorama circuit will see 12 Kiwi drivers vying to snatch Australia's most coveted V8 trophy from the locals.
Although the Ford pairing of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup look good for back-to-back wins after their victory at Sandown, the Kiwis arrive at the mountain this year with some top-notch cars prepared by very professional teams.
The New Zealand contingent's main opposition, other than Lowndes/Whincup, will come from Toll HSV drivers and series leaders Garth Tander and Rick Kelly, the HRT pairing of five-time Bathurst winner Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly and you can't rule the Enforcer, Russell Ingall, and partner Luke Youlden in the Stone Brothers Racing Ford.
Leading the New Zealand charge is Paul Radisich and Craig Baird in one of the series-leading Toll HSV Holden cars. Now Radisich has a quick, well-prepared car under him, and coupled with Baird's huge endurance experience, these two should be on the podium come tomorrow afternoon.
Kiwis Ross and Jimmy Stone will have prepared a fast, reliable Ford for Bathurst rookie Shane Van Gisbergen. During the first practice season on Thursday, despite never having been around the mountain, Van Gisbergen set the ninth fastest time. His co-driver, NZV8 champion John McIntyre, is no slouch and knows the Mountain well.
Four-time Bathurst winner Greg Murphy is looking to get his season back on track, and since he knows the circuit so well, all he'll need is a quick, reliable car. Murphy's Tasman Motorsport partner Jason Richards is no stranger to endurance racing, having finished third in the Sandown 500 and second in the Bathurst 1000 in 2005. "We're definitely in with a chance this weekend," said Richards. "Both Greg and I are very happy with the way it's going and we're only 100ths of a second slower than the fastest car."
Matt Halliday is back from his Champcar racing in the US and knows how V8s work. He has had experience at both Sandown and Bathurst and in testing last month impressed FPR with his speed. He will partner the experienced Supercar V8 Tasmanian Owen Kelly, veteran of seven endurance race campaigns.
Two-time Bathurst winner Steve Richards always goes well in the endurance rounds of the series and has a unique ability to pace himself. Richards is easy on his equipment and is good at preserving his cars. His second place in the wet and wild conditions at Oran Park could bode well if it rains over the weekend. Richards' FPR teammate, Sydneysider Mark Winterbottom, surprised a few with his third-place last year and is regarded as one of the top drivers.
Fabian Coulthard made people sit up and take notice in Australia driving Formula Fords and Porsche Carrera Cup GT3s, and is in his first full season of Supercar V8s in the Paul Morris Motorsport Holden. Coulthard is making steady progress up the field while driving an older model VZ Commodore. Fellow Kiwi Chris Pither, 20, joins Coulthard in the car having spent some time in the Fujitsu V8 series last year, and in 2005 raced V8 Utes with some success. Realistically, the two have an outside chance of a top-10 finish.
At 39 Kayne Scott has a vast amount of experience at Bathurst, having raced all manner of cars on the mountain. Scott was the 2005/2006 NZV8 champion and has been a five-time NZ TranZam champion. He now plies his trade in the Fujitsu V8 series, where he holds fourth place, and the endurance rounds of the Supercar V8 series. He is sharing driver duties in the Jack Daniels Racing Holden with Carrera Cup and former Champ car driver Australian Marcus Marshall.
To round out the dozen Kiwi drivers we have Team BOC driver Simon Wills. He was drafted into the team when owner Brad Jones decided to retire from the sprint rounds of the Supercar V8s. Wills won the 2002 Queensland 500 but struggles to string together back-to-back good results. At the last round he finished 10th and is beginning to show some consistency. Willis is paired with NSW driver Andrew Jones who is a genuine talent.
