WITH two Bathurst 1000 victories to his name, retired driver Russell Ingall knows what it takes to win at Mount Panorama.
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He is also a fount of knowledge when it comes to the pedigree of each driver competing in this year's race, given his history as a member of the broadcast team for the Supercars Championship.
So when Ingall tells you who he thinks will win the Bathurst 1000, you know he's probably on the right track, and this year he believes it will be Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team duo are a new driver combination, but individually they bring a lot of experience and track knowledge to this event.
Sunday will be van Gisbergen's 13th start in the Bathurst 1000. He has never won before, but he was runner up in 2016 and primed to win in 2014 before a late-race drama in the pits.
Meanwhile, his co-driver Tander has won the Great Race three times, in 2000, 2009 and 2011, and finished on the podium on two other occasions.
While many people are tipping current championship leader Scott McLaughlin to win on Sunday, Ingall - also known as The Enforcer - is not convinced.
"On paper, when you look at the driver combinations, I think the DJR-Penske car of McLaughlin and Triple Eight with [Jamie] Whincup have the best driver combinations, but don't discount someone like Shane van Gisbergen with Garth Tander," he said.
"That is a pretty potent combination. People are picking Whincup or McLaughlin, I'm actually going to pick Shane van Gisbergen.
"I reckon he's going to get up for the win because I think, over everyone, he's got the strongest combination."
The Enforcer shared his insight with the Western Advocate while in Bathurst on Tuesday for the unveiling of the #15 Nissan Altima livery with Rick Kelly.
Fans voted for Ingall's 'Silver Bullet' livery to be recreated on the Altima and he made the trip to see it alongside the original car.
Although he has been here this week, Ingall won't be watching the Great Race from the Mount on Sunday.
Instead, he'll be at home watching it on television, along with tens of thousands of other motor sport fans.
"It's going to be tough, this is the first time in a while I haven't been up here for the race," he said.
"It would have been nice to actually be sitting behind the wheel, but as they say, 'that's life'. You can't do it all the time."
The Bathurst race meeting got under way on Thursday, with the track schedule featuring several support categories and three Supercars practice sessions.
Action on track will resume at 7.20am on Friday. The first Supercars session of the day will be practice four at 8.25am.
