Supercars championship leader Shane van Gisbergen is trying to avoid getting caught up in the mystique surrounding the Bathurst 1000, but admits it's difficult.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team driver and 2016 Supercars champion, will team up with fellow New Zealander Earl Bamber for Sunday's race.
His best Bathurst result was second in his championship-winning year.
"I think people get wound up in the race and the mystique of it and that's what I'm trying not to do the last few years, but you just can't help it," van Gisbergen said.
"It's such a massive race - all your heroes have won there and when you get there, you get pretty excited."
Kiwis Jim Richards and Greg Murphy won Bathurst seven and four times respectively, but winning New Zealand combinations have been thin on the ground.
One of Murphy's wins was with another four-time Bathurst victor Steven Richards, the son of Jim, who was born in New Zealand, but has primarily lived and raced in Australia.
"It would be awesome to have two kiwis win it, it would be really special," van Gisbergen said.
Join us for live updates of the Bathurst 1000 from 11am Sunday.
With four events left, van Gisbergen holds a slender 55-point lead over fellow Kiwi and Ford Falcon driver Scott McLaughlin.
The leading Australian in third, 133 points behind van Gisbergen, is seven time champion Jamie Whincup, with another Holden driver, Craig Lowndes a further 229 points back.
"Having the experience and winning (a Supercars championship) one before, there's probably a little less pressure on me. But once we get through this weekend we'll see if we're still in it.
"At the moment it's just scoring as many points as possible, not being conservative but no mistakes to get there."
Van Gisbergen and Bamber fought back from a bad qualifying result to finish second behind Whincup and Paul Dumbrell at last month's Sandown 500.
Bamber, a double Le Mans 24 Hours winner, who was a karting rival of van Gisbergen's when they were younger, arrives back in Australia from the United States on Wednesday.
"It will be interesting to watch him, how he improves throughout the week and there's six practice sessions," van Gisbergen said.
"It will give him a lot of time in the car and he'll be ready by Sunday and I"m sure he can take it to any of them."
AAP
Join us for live updates of the Bathurst 1000 from 11am Sunday.
