WITH this year's Bathurst 1000 to open the Supercars' endurance season for the first time since 1967, talk surrounding the value of a quality co-driver has intensified.
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But when it comes to the man currently sitting third in the championship, Tickford Racing star Chaz Mostert, he has no qualms his co-driver James Moffat will perform under the added pressure.
In fact Mostert has gone as far as saying his pairing with Moffat - one which led to fourth at Bathurst and a win in the Gold Coast 600 last year - is the best fit of his Supercars career.
"Consistent combinations, you feel like you build on strength from year-to-year and I think for us last year to get fourth together at Bathurst was a good result considering I don't think we had an overall really strong package heading in there," Mostert said.
"In saying that, this year I feel like we've got a bit bigger stick to play with, we've been in the top five in the last couple of events.
"He likes the car similar to me as well, I've never had as good a pairing with a co-driver before I was paired up with Moff. He's such a positive for the team as well and I'm really lucky to have a guy like that in my corner and helping steer the ship."
This year will mark Moffat's 10th start in the 1000 - he's done three more than Mostert - and he has previously featured on the podium when second with Taz Douglas in 2014.
This Sunday Mostert is hoping he can help him follow in the footsteps of his father famous Allan and stand on the top tier together.
"He's his own well-credentialed driver himself, he ran for many years in the championship, he's done many great things. He's never probably had the best equipment at his disposal, but the things he's done like for Nissan and that over the years has been pretty cool to see," Mostert said.
"He wants to tick some bucket list items off, winning some events, so hopefully I can be in the right place at the right time and help him try and achieve those as he will help me try to achieve mine as well. We bounce off each other good, he's a great bloke."
On the flip side, Moffat is also looking forward to pairing with Mostert once more.
"I'm looking forward to getting up to Bathurst, I've been waiting for this race to come around all year! Chaz and I like the same feeling from the car and I've enjoyed driving the Mustang on a few occasions throughout the year, so I'm looking forward to taking it around the mountain," he said.
"I feel like we know each other better this year and that should allow us to play to our strengths. Chaz and team have been performing well lately and we will work hard on continuing that form across the endurance races starting this weekend at Bathurst."
