THERE is light-hearted banter, there is mutual respect, but make no mistake, there is still plenty of rivalry between the two Red Bull Holden Racing crews at this year's Bathurst 1000.
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The combination of Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander in the #97 Commodore and Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes in the #888 entry has been dubbed 'the dream team'.
Between them they boast 14 Bathurst 1000 victories.
While he has won a Supercars championship, van Gisbergen is the only member of the 'dream team' yet to claim the Peter Brock Trophy.
Tander wants to help him change that - even if it comes at the expense of Lowndes and Whincup.
"Certainly I know Shane is very hungry for success at the mountain, he hasn't had it there whereas the other three drivers have had multiple successes. So he's pretty keen to get his name on the leaderboard," Tander, a three-time Bathurst 1000 victor, said.
"For us, we're really comfortable where we are at with the number #97 car ... the great thing is that we know our team-mates are going to be strong and if we're going to win the race we're probably going to have to beat them as well - it would be a nice problem to have that if it turns out the two Red Bull cars are up the front somewhere."
Tander, who has joined the team for the first time this season, said he has appreciated the way he has been embraced.
He admits the "whole process of learning the Triple Eight way" is still a work in progress, but given his competitive nature he will pushing hard come Sunday.
"The four of us have a lot of fun mucking around and for me, being the new guy in the team, they've made me feel really welcome," he said.
READ MORE: Tander has nothing to prove as a co-driver
"Craig has won it seven times, I think it's lost that he's actually the reining champion at Bathurst as well. There's a lot of romance around Craig and Jamie are back together in the same car, they've won the race in the past, whereas Shane and I are a new combination.
"Yes, 100 percent there is rivalry and there's been a lot of friendly banter and I think it will stay friendly banter. But as they race goes on and things go well and we're both in contention, then I think it might become a bit more serious."
With his best Bathurst result thus far a second in 2016, van Gisbergen is undoubtedly hungry to take that next step.
He said it is 'pretty special' to be able to pick the brains of people like co-drivers Tander and Lowndes as he works towards that goal.
"I think there are 14 wins between us all and none for me, so it's pretty special to be a part of that line up," he said.
"They're all guys who were racing before I started and all guys I used to watch on TV and you know, aspire to be like. So it's pretty special.
"Comparing notes trying to make our cars better, working better, I still pinch myself at those moments, it's pretty special to be amongst them."
