Ford ace Mark Winterbottom has implored his bosses to pair him with team-mate Steven Richards for Bathurst, believing that will give him the best chance of snaring the V8 Supercar championship.

Bad luck and his own driving error conspired to knock Winterbottom off the top of the V8 points standings at the weekend as Holden's Garth Tander won round eight at Winton and the Ford Performance Racing (FPR) star floundered.

Tander now holds a 12-point advantage ahead of the two endurance rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst, and will team with Mark Skaife in the enduros.

FPR is yet to confirm its driver pairings, but Winterbottom signalled he'd like to partner Richards ? a combination which nearly took victory there last year.

Richards is virtually out of contention to win the championship, sitting sixth on the points table.

But a Winterbottom-Richards pairing may also be beneficial to the veteran as he looks to climb up the championship standings, as well as secure his third Bathurst title.

"I hope we pair up ? we haven't confirmed yet," Winterbottom, the man known as Frosty, said.

"If you look at the form of the past four rounds, we've [Richards and I] probably got the best combination.

"I don't want to be greedy. It's best for me, but Richo's got to look after his hopes too.

"There's 600 points up for grabs in two races. One DNF [did not finish] can turn it all around really quick."

Tander confirmed yesterday he would team up with Skaife for the Holden Racing Team at the enduros.

"When Mark and I drove together in 2006, we had really good speed and we're really looking forward to working together," Tander said.

"The win at Winton was good for morale and motivation and it will keep us focused going into the six-week break and the enduros at Phillip Island and Bathurst."

Winterbottom will spend most of the mid-season break enjoying a European holiday with wife Renee before Phillip Island from September 11-14.