When he lines up on the grid at the Bathurst Motor Festival this weekend it will be with the goal of winning each of the Group N races he contests.

Already this year Anderson has taken outright honours at Wake-field Park and Eastern Creek, so his aim to stand on the Bathurst podium is a realistic one.

“I won up there two years ago and I was looking to back that up again last year until that crash,” he said.

“I won race two and got pole for race three and I was in second when I was headed up the Mount. A car dropped two wheels, it hit two cars behind me and then they came across and hit me.

“When you are up the front after going from pole you think you will avoid something like that. They didn’t mean it, that’s just motor sport.”

After testing last weekend at Wakefield Park, Anderson’s Falcon is running well. It has been modified since last year’s Bathurst Motor Festival and with the Mount Panorama track having been recently resurfaced, the local talent is hoping to clock some quick laps.

However, he is not the only member of the capacity field capable of leading the way around the 6.213 kilometre track.

“I have redone the engine from this time last year and gone over the whole car to make sure everything is right. Basically it’s been given an upgrade,” he said.

“There will be a lot of quick cars this weekend and just to break into the top 10 will be a good effort, but no-one wants to just get top 10, you want to win.

“I am no different. When I pull my helmet on I want to go out there and get pole and win races.”

Being more familiar with the Mount Panorama track than many of his rivals will play in Anderson’s favour, but he knows all too well that under racing conditions anything can happen.

“When you drive around this track at 60 kilometres it’s not that bad, but doing 280 coming down the straight [Conrod Straight] it is a whole different ball game,” he said.

“Now with the tall gears I’ve got to use I just hope to get off the line cleanly. It will make it tough, but when there are 55 cars behind you on the grid you don’t want to stall.”

Bathurst’s Quentin Bland will also be part of the Group N field this weekend and will be racing his Ford Capri.

Like Anderson, he has a good record at the Bathurst Motor Festival and should press for class honours once more. His seventh placing in the final race of last year’s event against more powerful vehicles is an indication of what he can do.

“The car is much the same as it was last year. I was third last year [in class] and won the year before that in my three litre class,” he said.

While rain could test competitors this weekend, that is not a prospect which troubles Bland. He is simply looking forward to racing at his home circuit.

“You just drive to conditions, I suppose. These are very different to new cars, for sure, but you have always got to just drive to a car’s ability, it is man and machine,” he said.

“I think it’s good to race at Bathurst at any time of year, not just Easter, because it’s a good track.”

The first of three 25-minute Group N races for the festival will get underway at 10.40am on Saturday.