An emotional Bathurst 1000 campaign may finally be behind him but Craig Lowndes is facing another grim reality - he can't win the 2016 Supercars championship.
Lowndes is third in the drivers' standings, 319 points behind leader Shane van Gisbergen with three rounds left.
But the Holden veteran believes he is no chance of claiming a fourth series win - and first since 1999 - ahead of this weekend's Gold Coast 600.
Lowndes, 42, admitted he was drained by a Mount Panorama campaign that honoured the 10th anniversary of his mentor Peter Brock's death.
He was sentimental favourite to claim a seventh Great Race to acknowledge Brock but disaster struck, with a rare gearbox issue eventually relegating them to 16th.
"Going into Bathurst was always going to be emotional but we finally have put that past us," Lowndes said.
He may have recovered from the emotional toll of Bathurst but not the damage done to his championship hopes.
Lowndes said the 2016 drivers' title was now a two horse race between Holden teammates van Gisbergen and second placed Jamie Whincup.
"We slipped off the lead. I think it is a battle between Shane and Jamie," he said.
"We are still in it points-wise but it is going to be tough coming back from where we are at.
"We need to win races and for these guys to have some failures which I can't see them having.
"The ultimate goal is to finish third and provide the team a one, two, three (season finish)."
Not that Lowndes will be putting up the white flag at this weekend's Gold Coast 600.
He has not savoured victory on the Gold Coast's concrete wall lined street circuit since 2013 but is still hopeful of tightening Holden's grip on the series.
Holden teams have won 11 of the last 12 races in the championship.
"It's a tough weekend to get right," Lowndes said of the Gold Coast 600.
"We call it concrete canyon."
