Doing the double: SVG's bid for Bathurst-championship glory

Champion-elect Shane van Gisbergen's full focus is on defending his Great Race crown at this weekend's Repco Bathurst 1000.

Should he do so, he will join an exclusive group of drivers to have done the Bathurst-championship double.

Van Gisbergen and Red Bull Ampol Racing clinched the drivers' and teams' titles in Sydney earlier this month.

Van Gisbergen, who added a second championship to his 2016 triumph, is also aiming at consecutive Bathurst 1000 victories.

Only nine drivers have won both the drivers' title and Great Race in the same year. Only five have done it more than once.

Mark Skaife leads the way with three doubles; he won the 1992 ATCC and backed it up with a controversial Bathurst win with Jim Richards.

Skaife combined with Tony Longhurst to win the 2001 Great Race for the Holden Racing Team, before repeating the feat with Richards 12 months later.

Peter Brock, Allan Moffat and Dick Johnson also scored Bathurst-title doubles, as did the retiring Jamie Whincup.

Whincup's third Bathurst win in 2008 came before he clinched his first of seven drivers' titles at Oran Park.

His fourth and most recent Bathurst win in 2012 came before he score his fourth title later in the season.

The most recent instance of a driver winning both Bathurst and the championship in a year was Scott McLaughlin.

Two years ago, McLaughlin scored a record 18th win of the season in Bathurst. It would be his final race win of his championship-winning 2019 campaign.

Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander will this weekend race in the same car they drove to victory at Mount Panorama last year.

The champion-elect will carry an unassailable 349-point lead over Whincup into this weekend's season finale.

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship and Dunlop Series seasons will conclude at the Repco Bathurst 1000.

Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 503) and streamed on Kayo.

The Seven Network will provide live free to air coverage of the event. Tickets for the event and camping are on sale now.

Bathurst and drivers' championship in same season

Mark Skaife: 1992, 2001, 2002Peter Brock: 1978, 1980Allan Moffat: 1973, 1977Dick Johnson: 1981, 1989Jamie Whincup: 2008, 2012Bob Jane: 1963Jim Richards: 1991Craig Lowndes: 1996Scott McLaughlin: 2019