WHILE speculation is building that the Bathurst 1000 will act as the season finale for this year's Supercars series, Scott McLaughlin says his mission when he arrives at Mount Panorama will be the same as always - to win.
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Last year McLaughlin became to first driver since 2012 to win the Bathurst 1000 and Supercars championship in the same season.
With 16 pole positions and 18 race wins, the DJR Team Penske star was just the ninth driver in the history of the series to pull off the coveted double.
Given the Kiwi's view that "Bathurst is the holy grail for us as well as the championship", he makes no secret of the fact he wants to defend both the Peter Brock and drivers' championship trophies again this year.
The pursuit of that double always triggers talk of risk versus reward in the Bathurst 1000 and if the 161-lap epic does indeed act as the 2020 finale, the pressure to strike that balance will intensify.
But when asked about Bathurst being the decider, McLaughlin said his approach to Bathurst - and desire to win at the Mount - will be the same.
"It doesn't really change anything for me," McLaughlin, who made his Bathurst 1000 debut in 2012, said.
"Bathurst is Bathurst, whenever we go there whether it's a week later or two weeks before or whatever they change, it's Bathurst.
"We'll just go there and try to win the thing. Yeah, it's a finale for the championship potentially but it's not going to change too much.
"I want to win that race just as much as I want to win the championship, but we'll worry about where we are and what objectives we need to complete when we get there."
At this stage Supercars' is in the midst of a four-week period of racing with twin rounds at Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway before heading to Townsville for back-to-back rounds.
Following the twin meetings at Townsville there is expected to be more clarity over what the rest of the 2020 season will entail.
It is almost certain the COVID-19 pandemic will force Supercars to alter the remainder of the current calendar which has rounds slated for Sandown (September 19-20), Bathurst (October 8-11), Perth (October 31-November 1), Tasmania (November 21-22) and Sydney (December 12-13).
