Shane van Gisbergen's Ford rivals claim this year's new generation of Supercars will open the door for them to hunt down and topple the two-time defending champion.
Two weeks out from the Newcastle 500, the Supercars launched their season in Sydney on Monday with their new-look Gen3 cars and the dawn of the Chevrolet Camaros in place of Holdens.
The Gen3 cars mark the biggest shake-up to the sport in the modern era, surpassing the introduction of the Car of the Future in 2013 with very little carrying over from last year's models.
Drivers expect the vehicles to be less aerodynamic, and with more controlled components there will be less difference between cars across all teams.
The drivers also feel they are largely entering the unknown, with limited testing opportunities.
They also expect this should close up the field and provide a clean slate, after van Gisbergen had wins in 12 of the last 17 races last year at Triple Eight Racing.
"It really opens the door," two-time Bathurst winner and Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Chaz Mostert told AAP.
"This year is going to really reward the team, driver and engineer that works the hardest. That is the whole idea of it.
"You would like to think it will be closer than ever before."
Walkinshaw missed one day of pre-season testing last week on the former Holden factory team's move to Ford Mustang.
And while Mostert has conceded that has left the team slightly behind others, he is confident that ground can be made up after finishing third last year.
Dick Johnson Racing veteran Will Davison is another who claims the door is ajar for a team to challenge Triple Eight.
"The cars we had were nearly at the end of their development window last year. But now that starts from scratch, so it gives everyone a new opportunity," Davison said.
"We know who the stand-out teams and drivers are, and of course they will be strong again.
"But the tools they used last year, they don't have this year. They are going to have to re-learn and we'll see who gets onto it the quickest."
Van Gisbergen has welcomed the notion of a more competitive season, but has previously voiced concern over the lack of driver involvement in the next generation of cars.
He would not speak in detail on Monday about how the new car felt in testing, or what he hoped to achieve in the next round of practice on Wednesday in Sydney.
"I'm just ready to go racing," he said.
"Last year wasn't easy. We still had some big challenges. They were just from different people every time.
"This year, maybe there will be more people up there, I don't know."
