They have roped in Supercars' driver and previous Bathurst 1000 winner Nick Percat to contest the event, after Shane van Gisbergen was forced to withdraw after testing positive to COVID-19 this week.

READ MORE: Van Gisbergen out of Bathurst 6 Hour, Percat in

Smollen said losing van Gisbergen was not ideal, but the team was grateful Percat could fill in for him.

"I was fortunate enough to have a racing relationship with Nick Percat, who I drove with in Carrera Cup over three seasons and we enjoyed some great wins together, and he was my next phone call," Smollen said.

"I just picked up the phone and said 'What are you doing this weekend?'. He said 'Not sure' and so I said 'Do you want to win the Bathurst 6 Hour?', and then we just had a few logistics to work around because he's in South Australia at Talem Bend, a fair way away from an airport right now, but he's managed to get on the last flight from Adelaide to Sydney."

Conveniently, the team's engineer for the weekend, Dr Geoffrey Slater, also engineers Nick Percat in the Supercars Championship, which puts them in a better position to come away with a good result on Sunday.

Rubis and Smollen are also not letting the pressure of being the defending champions get to them.

"It's like any sport. You do the best you can and that's all you can do," Rubis said.

As last year's winners, they were on Thursday presented with a plaque that will be laid at a new victor's walk outside the National Motor Racing Museum.

The walk will feature the names of winners of the Bathurst 6 Hour and the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Smollen said it was special to have their names permanently at the foot of Mount Panorama.

"It's great to look back, but it also drives you to want to do it again," he said.

A 70-car entry list for the event was confirmed last month.

If more than 64 cars make it to the grid on Sunday morning, it will become the biggest ever field to tackle an endurance race at Mount Panorama.

READ ALSO: Kavichs will Race for a Cure and a podium at Bathurst 6 Hour

The entry list includes some big names, such as current Supercars drivers Will Davison, Tim Slade and Will Brown, and legends like John Bowe.

Previous 6 Hour winners Beric Lynton, Tim Leahey and Grant and Iain Sherrin are also on the entry list.

Anyone wanting to watch the race action at the event can purchase tickets at the gate.

Sunday's race starts at 11.15am. There will be live coverage of the Bathurst 6 Hour action on Saturday and Sunday via Stan Sports.

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