Supercars title challenger Scott McLaughlin fears another Red Bull HRT walkover at Bathurst after the Holden team's stunning speed at the Sandown 500.
The pace of winners Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell was the talking point of the Enduro Cup opener in Melbourne this weekend.
By race day, the Triple Eight teammates had swapped notes, allowing Shane van Gisbergen to join in the party to finish second.
Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards' run through the field brought the fist Triple Eight 1-2-3 in more than two years.
McLaughlin, who got home as the best of the rest in fourth to keep his title hopes intact, said it was an ominous display ahead of the 1000-kilometre classic.
"We knew they were going to be fast but how fast they were was pretty unbelievable," he told motorsport website Speedcafe.
"If there wasn't a safety car today they would have lapped the whole field ... I'm really confident going to Bathurst but I am worried."
The Red Bull dominance killed the race as a spectacle, and emboldened Whincup and van Gisbergen.
The seven-time series champion has four Bathurst triumphs but hasn't managed a top-10 finish on his last three visits.
The Sandown 500 run has Whincup dreaming of a fifth Bathurst - and even leaving open the possibility of reeling in the 338-point gap to leader van Gisbergen for an eighth championship.
"We'll go out there and race hard and have a bit of a free swing and see what happens," he said.
"300 (points) is a long way.
"What have we got, four (meets) to go? 1200 points still up for grabs.
"Never say die."
For his part, van Gisbergen is sticking true to his pledge not to think about the championship until after the Endurance series.
Despite qualifying in 11th, he said he didn't miss a wink of sleep on Saturday night after collaborating with Whincup's engineer to improve his own car.
"Thankfully it was a teammate who was kicking our arse so we could look at their car and off that we had a warm-up session to have a gamble and go towards their setup," he said.
"Credit to Shippy (engineer Grant McPherson) ... he could suck it up that we didn't have the best car and go towards (Whincup's engineer David) Cauchi's."
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