Bathurst 1000 champions Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander receive winners plaque

The duo claimed victory in the Great Race last year and have teamed up again for Sunday's grueling 161-lap race around Mount Panorama.

The drivers of the #97 were presented with their victors' plaque on Tuesday at a special meet and greet with fans at the Bathurst Rail Museum.

Mayor Ian North presented the plaque to the drivers.

The plaque will be put on Russell Street, out the front of the civic centre, with the rest of the plaques for previous winners.

Prior to the presentation, van Gisbergen and Tander did an interview for B-Rock and answered questions from fans who were invited to attend the event.

They are looking forward to having fans back at the track this year after the limits on crowds in 2020.

"It's good to be back here and it's going to be awesome of have fans at the track this year for sure. Last year the race was super intense, but just missed the atmosphere, so I'm looking forward to that this year," van Gisbergen said.

Fans had a variety of questions for the drivers, including about the Gen 3 cars joining the grid in 2023 and whether or not van Gisbergen would let his teammate, four-time Bathurst winner Jamie Whincup, win on Sunday given the championship has been sewn up.

The short answer was no.

"We always race hard," he said.

Sunday will be Whincup's last race as a full-time Supercars driver, ending a career that has seen him win seven championship titles, making him statistically the greatest of all time.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: