But things are a little bit different at this time of year.

Welcome to the endurance season, where part of the challenge is a super late night of racing on Friday night. 500 kilometres of gruelling, tire burning, challenging endurance racing bring fatigue to the forefront of race dynamics.

Taking a look at our regional time differences, the green flag will drop at approximately 10.30pm NZST as their clocks took a step forward over the weekend, whilst on the western side of the ditch, the race will be kicking off at 5.30pm.

Think about that in terms of driver fatigue. Damon Mulqueen made the step up into main game duties and will be the only primary driver currently affected by this, but we also see several co-drivers who will have to make the struggle for both Phillip Island and Sandown.

The championship is going to be decided by the Trueforce Endurance Cup, of that there is no doubt. Jarrad Filsell was looking confident after taking four of the first five rounds, but his issues back at Jerez have left the door ever so slightly ajar.

This is all going to come down to the Co-Drivers and how they step up to the plate.

Brodie Kostecki has been the best of the Co-Drivers year after year. Largely regarded as not just one of the best driving talents in the country, but also a leading force in the engineering side of things; his abilities to understand the car, data and mechanical componentry has been the difference between Lobs Esports and the rest of the field.

So from a racecraft perspective, do you chase the TrueForce Endurance Cup? Or after the last few years of drama, does someone like Filsell make the decision to lock his focus on the bigger championship picture?

Don’t forget the added spice in double points to come our way for the next three races. This story is not over by any stretch of the imagination.

iRacing themselves say it, but I think it's never been more true: “Racing isn’t easy”.

There’s another light chance of rain for both practice, qualifying and the very earliest elements of the race. If we do see rain, it shouldn’t last any more than the first stint. It's a low chance, but the chance is there all the same.

Race management and Co-Driver management will be key. Clearing the Co-Driver time efficiently is going to be the most critical part of the process. Tyres are wearing excessively with the long loaded corners as well, so this is looking like Jerez Round 2!

Fuel mileage is in the realm of 33-36 laps depending on burn, with the potential rain threat standing to extend that if the penny lands the right way. The critical lap to get home is Lap 47 for the Co-Driver swap, then Lap 80 to get home.

Additionally, reports are coming in that Brenton Hobson will be on the injured list as well. He will be putting in minimum hours and is relying on Tom Freer to put the drives together that he has shown to be capable of over the last few years.

There are a number of intriguing driving pairings to keep an eye on too, where the co-drivers are easily capable of being in the series in their own right. 

James Scott’s outside the box recruitment of Sam Blacklock is one not to look past.

Brady Meyers has managed to recruit Ethan Warren, but at this stage Thomas Freeman is on standby duties for Phillip Island just in case. 

Wayne Bourke will be looking to leverage Broc Feeney as the Supercars Sprint Cup Champion makes his Pro Series debut. 

Damon Woods has been starting to put consistent results together, and if Gianni Lutzu shows the pace we all know he has, this could be another matchup that can win with a bit of luck.

Lastly, my dark horse for the race is Josh Anderson and his partner Jake Burton – especially given Burton won this race last year.

Regardless, it’s going to be a slogfest of looking after the equipment, the drivers, track and marbles.

Join us on Friday night at 6.45pm AEST as we get the TrueForce Endurance Cup underway!