Supercars legend Mark Skaife picks his favourite to win the Bathurst 1000

The Bathurst 1000 is upon us and six-time winner Mark Skaife has given his predictions for which driver will win the Great Race.

Supercars will get a glimpse of the future when Toyota’s car that will join the grid in 2026 is unveiled in Bathurst on Friday.

The championship race is tantalisingly poised, with Red Bull Ampol’s Will Brown holding a 189-point lead over Chaz Mostert, who has triumphed at Bathurst twice before.

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Mostert, who holds the records for the fastest qualifying and in-race laps around Mount Panorama, has the pace to win Bathurst for a third time on Sunday and keep his championship hopes alive.

“I think the favourite would probably be Mostert and (Lee) Holdsworth,” Supercars legend and commentator Mark Skaife told news.com.au.

“Their form and the continued pace of the Mustang has been formidable. I’m probably favouring them.

“It’s hard to separate the two Red Bull Ampol Camaros (Will Brown/Scott Pye and

Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup). There’s probably half a dozen cars (who could win). I’d put Cam Waters and James Moffatt in as the next best.”

“There’s probably at least eight or 10 combinations are in with a chance.”

Chaz Mostert and Will Brown are going for their first championship.

Skaife, a six time Bathurst 1000 winner, said “minimising the mistakes is critical” to winning the Great Race.

“We’ve got 900 points left (up for grabs) in the championship in all the races we have left have big implications if you make a mistake,” he said.

“At Bathurst if your car doesn’t finish and you’re at the back of the field and someone else is able to win, there could be a 250-300 point swing.

“Then you go to Gold Coast and Adelaide where the tracks are absolute torture in terms of the ability to make a mistake there.

“They’re high risk and high reward events, these last three, and it starts this weekend.”

Mark Skaife thinks Chaz Mostert will be a serious contender at Bathurst.

First glimpse of Toyota’s Supercars model

Supercars fans will get their first glimpse of Toyota’s vehicle that will join the grid in 2026 as part of a four-car Supercars commitment from the Japanese manufacturer.

The Toyota GR Supra will be unveiled on live in the garage on Friday as part of Kayo Sports’ coverage of the Bathurst 1000.

“On Friday there’s a reveal of a clay model for the GR Toyota Super,” Skaife explained.

“It’s a tease for what the car is going to look like. That part of the garage will actually be done live in the garage with Jess Yates hosting that on Friday.

“That’s a big part of the story of the growth of the sport. It’s an incredible achievement for Supercars to have the world’s biggest car maker and Australia’s market leader on the grid from 2026. What a good looking car.

“To have Supra vs Mustang vs Camaro — they’re all affordable, aspirational, really cool race cars. From all the glimpses we’ve seen so far, the car looks fantastic.

“To get Australia’s market leader onto the grid, with four cars. It probably opens the door for others. When you see a Toyota come on board to join General Motors and Ford, it bodes well for the future.”

All eyes are on Mount Panorama this weekend. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

MARK SKAIFE’S TOP 5 ‘KAYO MOUNTAIN MOMENTS’

1. 1977 Allan Moffat and Colin Bond with the Ford Factory Team famous 1-2

victory.

2. 1979 Peter Brock with the Holden Dealer Team A9X Torana winning by 6

laps and broke the lap record on the last lap.

3. 1992 Jim Richards crowd reaction to the controversial and famous Nissan

GT-R win in atrocious wet conditions.

4. 2002 10 years after the Nissan win, Jim Richards and Mark Skaife won in

the factory Holden Team Commodore.

5. 2014 Jamie Whincup ran out of fuel on the last lap and Chaz Mostert lead

for only the length of Conrod Straight to win in one of the classic Bathurst

races.

Fox Sports Broadcast schedule live on Kayo Sports and Foxtel

• Thursday on air from 7:30 AM for the first practice.

• Friday on air from 8:00 AM featuring practice and qualifying sessions.

• Saturday on air from 8:30 AM and includes the Top 10 Shootout.

• Sunday on air from 7:30 AM ahead of the full 161 laps of the Bathurst

1000.

THE BATHURST 1000 GRID

TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING

(Chevrolet Camaro)

Will Brown/Scott Pye

Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup

TICKFORD RACING

(Ford Mustang)

Cam Waters/James Moffat

Thomas Randle/Tyler Everingham

WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED

(Ford Mustang)

Chaz Mostert/ Lee Holdsworth

Ryan Wood/ Fabian Coulthard

GROVE RACING

(Ford Mustang)

Matt Payne/Garth Tander

Richie Stanaway/Dale Wood

DICK JOHNSON RACING

(Ford Mustang)

Will Davison/ Kai Allen

Anton De Pasquale/ Tony D’Alberto

MATT STONE RACING

(Chevrolet Camaro)

Nick Percat/Dylan O’Keeffe

Cameron Hill/Cameron Crick

TEAM 18

(Chevrolet Camaro)

Mark Winterbottom/Michael Caruso

David Reynolds/ Warren Luff

EREBUS MOTORSPORT

(Chevrolet Camaro)

Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood

Jack Le Brocq/Jayden Ojeda

PREMIAIR RACING

(Chevrolet Camaro)

Tim Slade/Cameron McLeod

James Golding/David Russell

BRAD JONES RACING

(Chevrolet Camaro)

Andre Heimgartner/Declan Fraser

Bryce Fullwood/Jaylyn Robotham

Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys

Jaxon Evans/Dean Fiore

BLANCHARD RACING TEAM

(Ford Mustang)

James Courtney/Jack Perkins

Aaron Love/ Aaron Cameron

TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING (WILDCARD)

(Chevrolet Camaro)

Craig Lowndes/Cooper Murray

MATT CHAHDA MOTORSPORT (WILDCARD)

Matt Chahda/Brad Vaughan