Mt Panorama, Bathurst. New South Wales. A few hours drive west of Sydney, this 6. 2 km track with the almost 2 km long ‘Conrod’ straight, is known worldwide. The cars take roughly 6 hours to cover 161 laps. For touring cars, (’V8 Supercars’ in Australia) this is a long race.

As with all forms of racing, there will always be a difference between the top teams, and the rest. Even though V8 Supercars is a parity formula, with the cars resembling their road going counterparts in body shape only, the factory (GM) Holden and Ford teams usually lead the way. The exciting thing is, there are a lot of teams setting times within a few tenths of pole position.

It’s different from when I was a kid in the 70’s and 80’s. The King of the Mountain, the late Peter Brock, won this race 9 times (10 if you count the short lived 24 hour race). In 1979, driving the 05 Holden Torana A9X, he won by 6 laps, setting a new lap record on the last lap! Now, it's 6 sprint races all in a row. So, it all comes down to when you make your last pit stop. Safety cars are a common sight – will there be one anywhere near when most cars are filling up for the last time? The most common phrase from the commentators these days is “buy yourself a position in the final stint”. Its all about being in the top 10 near the end, with a car that is faster than the rest.

Whether that speed difference is because of better tyre management over the weekend, or lower fuel load due to strategy, the drivers, (who have been up since 4:30 in the morning) as usual, will make the difference. Who will make a mistake under pressure?

This year, I'm looking forward to the possibility of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup winning their 4th in a row before the Vodafone 888 Team switches from Ford to Holden next year. Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy in the Sprint Gas Racing Holden Commodore are my emotional favourites, but I'm also keeping an eye on Leanne Tander (nee Ferrier) in the Wilson Security Parking Ford.