Indeed, van Gisbergen produced an encouraging performance during wet conditions at Phillip Island before the duo ultimately took the flag in tenth place and he said he was confident of a strong run for the #9 Falcon in the series' blue riband event.
“There is a lot of talk about SBR's lead driver and co-driver combination,” he said. “In some ways it does make it a little bit harder, getting another driver familiar with the car. But with Jonathon, he is in the SBR Fujitsu car during the year and the cars are very similar for that purpose. We also don't mind being the underdog. It takes a bit of pressure off.
“We can go into the race, do our own thing and do the best we can do and hopefully sneak away with the result at the end. SBR had two very good cars at Phillip Island so that gives us a lot of confidence for Bathurst. We just need to stay clean and then go for it in the last 30 laps.
“It would probably be good for us if the race is wet; the car handles well in the wet and I do enjoy it. But you can't hope and pray for it, you have to have the pace in the dry too.”
