Ford v Holden showdown

It's just what the fans ordered; the long-enduring Ford v Holden rivalry at the spiritual home of Australian motorsport - Bathurst.

The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 is THE race on every Australian motorsport fan's calendar, and with a few extra incentives, 2007 should be a ripper.

Championship-leading team-mates Rick Kelly and Garth Tander will share the drive in the Toll HSV Dealer team Commodore, after good showings in the last round at Sandown.

While the Fords dominated, Kelly finished second with Paul Radisich as co-driver, and Tander was fourth with Craig Baird.

Reigning Bathurst champs Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup (Team Vodafone Ford) took the honours in Melbourne and will be going all out to make it a Sandown 500-Bathurst 1000 double.

Lowndes has done it before, like his former mentor, the late great Peter Brock, after whom the Bathurst trophy has been named.

The competition is tight with Rick Kelly leading on 443 points, followed by Tander (434), Whincup (389), Lowndes (373) and Todd Kelly on 324. But Bathurst is more about the race itself as opposed to championship points, and thus the pairings chosen by the respective teams.

Bathurst is the big one and the Commodores and Falcons are the main players.

The rev-heads will be out in force, though revelry has been contained to some extent in recent years, and the mountain will be packed.

Mt Panorama has been the scene of some incredible racing and dramas down the years, with Brock's and Dick Johnson's thrills and spills etched in the minds of Queensland fans.

Now, after a changing of the guard, it's the young guns who dominate. Though there are plenty still capable of lifting the Peter Brock Trophy high on the mountain, including former champ Mark Skaife, currently sixth (273 points), the most likely combatants for the big one will be KellyTander (Ford) and LowndesWhincup (Holden).

Which ever way it goes it will be another huge weekend of racing at Bathurst, with plenty of fast-paced action, bumps and grinds, plus the roar of the big V8s.