Mount Panorama is already grumbling. Just days out from the 2011 Supercheap Autos Bathurst 1000 the trucks are rolling into town, the fans are arriving en masse and the drivers are waking each morning with their pulse elevated just that tiny bit.
It's the most anticipated race of the year. An event with a grandeur, prestige and mystique almost unrivalled. Though it falls two-thirds of the way through the season it's the V8 Supercars grand final. The spiritual home where glory can turn a horror championship year into the best year of your life.
Four teams stand above the rest, Toll Holden Racing Team, TeamVodafone, Ford Performance Racing and Stone Brothers Racing.
The two factory teams, HRT and FPR are nursing the wounds of a disappointing season. TeamVodafone is riding high on a wave of dominance while SBR have given their young charge the scent of blood to fuel his already rising hunger.
1000kms around a 6.2km mangled ribbon of tarmac await on Sunday. One of the world's most dangerous circuits where every mistake carries a price.
SPEED has taken a look at the contenders lining up for glory in 2011 to put together this ultimate guide to the Bathurst 1000.
Jacob’s top 5 picks:
888 Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife Triple8
Once again Lowndes and Skaife find their way to the top of this list. They’ve now claimed the past three endurance races and sport 11 Bathurst wins between them.
A win in 2011 would put Skaife equal with the man he scored his first win with, Jim Richards, in second on the all time winners list with seven victories. It would also elevate Lowndes to equal third with Larry Perkins on six.
This is the lead Triple 8 car, and while Jamie Whincup and Andrew Thompson are absolutely contenders, though as we said before Phillip Island, any rain while Thompson is at the helm could scuttle their chances of a podium.
5 Mark Winterbottom/Steven Richards FPR
FPR didn’t deliver as expected at Phillip Island. Winterbottom and Richards were simply not on the pace of the other front-runners and will be smarting from the beating they took.
Having said that this is the car that was on pole in 2010 and is frequently the first car out of the first turn. The duo has plenty of raw speed and intelligence but need the team to click if they’re to meet their potential.
FPR was expected to click at Phillip Island but didn’t, and Ford bosses won’t accept anything less than glory at Bathurst.
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