Bathurst form guide

The defending race champions, who between them share an incredible 11 wins in The Big One of V8 Supercar racing, are the pre-race favourites again for the Bathurst 1000 after a perfect build-up in the Phillip Island 500.

Lowndes and Skaife have it all - speed, experience, cool heads, fitness, a fast car and a crack crew - and are also the sentimental favourites as it could be the last time Skaife races in the Bathurst 1000.

Their rivals are led by their team mates at TeamVodafone, two-time touring car champion Jamie Whincup and youngster Andrew Thompson, who are smarting after a narrow loss at Phillip Island following a touch-up between the two cars that left with a battered door and a four-second delay at their crucial driver change.

But there are more than a dozen others with Lowndes/Skaife in their sights, from veteran and previous winner Russell Ingall to the hero drivers - Garth Tander, Mark Winterbottom, James Courtney, Will Davison - at the factory-backed Holden Racing Team and Ford Performance Racing.

And then there are the speedy outsiders, led by Shane van Gisbergen in a Stone Brothers Commodore and Lee Holdsworth, having his last Bathurst run in a Commodore with Garry Rogers.

Here's how Carsguide rates them

1-1: Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife, Commodore: More than just sentimental favourites, with everything it takes to repeat their 2010 win.

5-2: Jamie Whincup/Andrew Thompson, Commodore: Their only weakness is Thompson's pace on a wet track, and it often rains at Bathurst. Whincup is desperate to win for the first time without Lowndes.

2-1: Mark Winterbottom/Steven Richards, Falcon: Frosty has the one-lap pace and Richards is a two-time winner, but FPR continually finds new ways to lose the big races.

2-1: James Courtney/Cameron McConville, Commodore: Both drivers have been solid at Bathurst, but HRT has been dismal this year and they will need a major form reversal to win on speed.

2-1: Garth Tander/Nick Percat, Commodore: Potentially the strongest threat to the TeamVodafone cars, but Percat is unproven at Bathurst despite his stunning speed at Phillip Island.

5-1: Shane van Gisbergen/John McIntyre, Falcon: The Giz is emerging as a star driver and has pace to burn, but that is unlikely to help if he goes too hard or too early at Bathurst. A bit of luck could get him home.

8-1: Will Davison/Luke Youlden, Falcon: The second FPR Falcon was strong at Phillip Island, but Davison crashed heavily at Bathurst last year and needs to re-invent himself to conquer the mountain this time.

10-1: Jason Bright/Andrew Jones, Commodore: Bright has won races this year and the Brad Jones team knows how to run at the front at Bathurst, but it will still be a tough job for them to challenge the favourites.

10-1: Lee Holdsworth/Greg Ritter, Commodore: Holdsworth did a lot of leading in 2010 and Ritter has been solid in the past as a co-driver. Only outsider, but could make the podium.