It's the end of an era at Bathurst — and Supercars as a whole.
This year, for the last time, the Lion-crested cars will roar around the Mountain, fly through the cutting and bring joy to the thousands of red-flag waving supporters who line the course.
Holden's time in Supercars is almost up.
This is not the first time we've spoken about Holden's imminent departure from the sport.
In fact, this time two years ago we were in the same position, instigated by Holden's decision to end manufacture of Commodores in Australia.
The factory backing of Holden's teams ended the year after, but Commodores have prevailed on the grid and will continue to do so right up until the end of this season at the Adelaide 500 in early December.
From next year, General Motors — which owns the Holden brand — will enter its Chevrolet Camaro instead.
Camaros aren't new in Supercar racing — Bob Jane piloted his Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 to back-to-back titles in 1971 and 1972 and, in the 80s, Camaros challenged regularly for the title.
They've never won at Bathurst though, where Holdens have won over half the Supercar races staged on the Mountain.
Holden's first win on Mount Panorama came in 1968 when Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland won in their Holden HK Monaro GTS327.
That was the first of 35 wins for Holden under the Monaro, Torana and Commodore badges.
Ford has won 21 times, although does have the edge in terms of pole positions 25-24.
While Holden departs, Ford remains, its Gen3 Mustang will tear around tracks next season — meaning fans of the blue oval will continue to have their passion sated under the new direction the sport is taking.
However, without their most bitter rivals on track, victories may not seem as sweet.
Holden, after all, is synonymous with Ford.
To have one without the other is ripping the heart out of one of Australia's greatest deictic rivalries.
You would be hard pushed to find too many casual fans who could tell you the third manufacturer to record more than a single Bathurst 1000 victory (it's Nissan, by the way, in 1991 and 1992 — Jaguar, BMW and Volvo all have one each).
The point is, that Ford and Holden go together with Bathurst like AFL and Sherrin.
To imagine one without the other, even if within the realms of fantasy, takes some thought process.
Next year, Supercars' long-awaited shift to the Gen3 model of cars will come into play, meaning a huge change will take place in the cars we see tearing around the tracks in Australia's domestic championship.
Whether it can survive the lack of that irrepressible rivalry, remains to be seen.
Shane van Gisbergen aims for Aussie motorsport icon's final hurrah
Fans of Holden will no doubt feel this weekend holds a funereal aspect, but as with any departure, there could yet be a celebration attached.
Defending Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen will be desperate to claim a second career Bathurst crown to go with his 2020 title.
In doing so, he will go a long way to wrapping up the overall Supercars championship.
Van Gisbergen has 2,782 points thanks to his record-equalling 18 race wins so far this year, a 525-point lead over second-placed Cam Walters with three races to go.
Will Davison, Anton de Pasquale and Chaz Mostert are also in mathematical contention of claiming the title but their title shots are almost impossibly long.
There are 300 points on offer for each race win, meaning a victory at Bathurst and anything lower than fourth for Waters will see the title once again be claimed by the flying Kiwi.
Van Gisbergen warmed up for Bathurst by finishing third in the WRC2 Rally of New Zealand last week.
Given the expected conditions — the BOM predicts 80 per cent chance of 10mm of rain, far better than had been forecast earlier in the week — that recent rally experience might be incredibly valuable.
Winning the Supercars title would make it Holden's 23rd overall.
He is just one of 19 Holden Commodore ZB's lining up on the grid though, alongside nine Ford Mustang GTs.
That includes last year's winner Chaz Mostert, who claimed his second Bathurst 1000 crown alongside Lee Holdsworth in a tremendous finale set up by an echidna-provoked safety car period with 56 laps to go.
This year he is racing alongside Fabian Coulthard in the Walkinshaw Andretti number 25 car.
Seven-time winner Craig Lowndes will also compete in a Triple Eight/Red Bull wildcard entry alongside Bathurst rookie Declan Fraser.
In short, there are plenty of options for Holden fans to get behind on Sunday — and frankly any will do for the hardy masses who've braved the rain.
For what better way to close a defining chapter in Australian motorsport history than a Holden victory?
