Unfortunately for New Zealand motorsport fans, the Supercars rivalry that would have matched some of the greatest in motorsport history never truly hit its peak.
Kiwis Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin are two of the best the category has ever seen, combining for five championship titles in the last six years.
Van Gisbergen wrapped up his second series title with a round to spare at Sydney last month and has his sights set on a second straight Bathurst 1000 victory, when the green flag drops on Sunday.
Meanwhile, McLaughlin - whose plan to race at Mount Panorama this year was scrapped because of mandatory quarantine in New South Wales - is preparing for his second season as a full-time IndyCar driver.
The three-time Supercars champion showed his class during his debut season, scoring a podium and five top 10 finishes, while he also ran at the top end of the Indy 500 in the late stages and will be better for the experience when he hits the track next year.
But an all-Kiwi battle for Australasian motorsport supremacy would have had petrolheads purring - something they have been denied by McLaughlin's departure for the United States.
That rivalry took off during McLaughlin's maiden 2018 title, with his fellow Kiwi nipping at his heels until the final round of the season, but with DJR Team Penske Mustangs dominant and a Red Bull Racing inconsistent, McLaughlin's championship tilts were almost unchallenged.
In McLaughlin's absence, van Gisbergen has thrived this season, appearing unbeatable at times and winning 14 races - including six in a row to start his campaign.
NZ motorsport legend Greg Murphy thinks the McLaughlin-van Gisbergen rivalry could have reached iconic status.
"If anything has been missing for Shane this year, it's that Scott hasn't been there to be beaten," Murphy tells Newshub's Big Wraps podcast.
"I rate both of them as two of the very best race drivers in the world. They are very different drivers, the way they go about it, and their little strengths and weaknesses, but at the end of the day, they are a couple of the most incredible drivers the world has ever seen, I believe.
"We have seen that with the way Scott has handled his first year of IndyCars and you look at Shane performing so well when he drives anything.
"He turns up at Jacks Ridge in a rally car and wins that, and he wins the NZ Grand Prix from the back of the grid.
"He gets in anything and he goes fast, and that's what separates Shane from many other drivers, because he can fine-tune and adapt to anything on four or two wheels."
Murphy has sensed a release in van Gisbergen during 2021, almost as if the departure of McLaughlin has allowed him to focus solely on being the best driver, not outpacing his countryman.
"I don't think Gizzy is any better this year than before - he has been this good the whole way through. I've thought about this a lot and it was almost like it was a mental thing, potentially.
"Now that Scott's not there, he is missing him not being around, because he sees Scott as the guy he needed to beat and he didn't beat him.
"The last couple of years, he just looked a little frustrate -, he looked like something was irking him. I don't know exactly what, maybe his focus was on how he could beat Scott and he got distracted because he came out this year and dominated, and it's a shame the Scott wasn't here, because we will never know if Giz would have been as dominant - that's something we have all missed out on seeing."
Murphy sees 'SVG' and teammate Garth Tander as the hottest favourites in years to win the 'Great Race' this weekend.
A four-time Bathurst winner himself, 'Murph' says the pairing is easily the strongest in the field, with Tander capable of matching the lap speeds with most of the main drivers, let alone their co-drivers.
"Shane is just in wonderful form and at the peak of his powers behind the wheel at the moment.
"Garth is an amazing support act - he has fallen into the role really well and he is still a brilliant race car driver - and they are the best pairing in terms of all-round strength in the field.
"If Shane is at the top of his game, I just don't see anyone else having all those little boxes being ticked as well as they do."
Bathurst has been a fixture for Murphy, since his first visit as a driver in 1994. He won his first crown in 1996 with the great Craig Lowndes and by 2004, he had bagged four.
Several podium drives followed, before his final race in 2014, but 2021 was supposed to be his comeback.
Murphy agreed to race as a wildcard with fellow Kiwi Richie Stanaway, but the pair were unable to secure managed isolation spots and had to withdraw.
For the first time in 27 years, Murphy will watch the race from the comfort of his couch and looks forward to reliving his days as a wide-eyed youngster glued to the television for seven hours.
"I've started to do a bit of a ring around. I don't want to be lonely, because my wife won't be here.
"She has made other plans, so I rang a few of the boys and they will come around, and we will put a competition on the simulator and pretend we are racing drivers, turn the barbie on and have a few quiets.
"It's history. It's about me growing up, and being fascinated with motorsport and Australian touring cars, and that weekend every October.
"My dad used to watch it live with me and this is back in the 1980s, when it was the only Australian race that was live on television in New Zealand.
"Bathurst was that one race a year, and I recall being immersed and fixated in what was in front of me on the television, and watching my hero Peter Brock run around the Mountain in car 05."
Join Newshub for live updates of the Bathurst 1000 from midday Sunday
