Jamie Whincup doesn't know if he's got the goods to repeat his fightbacks of season past and charge to an unprecedented seventh V8 Supercars title in 2015.
The Holden superstar sits fifth on the championship standings after a poor outing in Perth, where he finished second, 15th and 19th over the round's three races.
Although his Commodore was far from perfect, Whincup admitted to being the team's "weakest link" and says he needs to do a better job this weekend at Winton.
"I wish I wasn't in this position," he told AAP.
"It's no fun having to grind your way back. We try our hardest not to be in this position, but when it happens it happens.
"It's what you do next that's most important.
"Hopefully we can pull through this little form slump."
It's somewhat familiar territory for the Red Bull ace, who was without a win after 10 races last season.
He went on to claim 11 of the next 22 races on his way to a record sixth V8 crown.
But, he insists, "the past is the past".
"Whether we can do it again, that's another question," Whincup added.
"Experience is a big part of it - it certainly helps. (But) we're not panicking."
Victoria's Winton Raceway has been somewhat a bogey track for Whincup and teammate Craig Lowndes since 2013, when the Car of the Future rules were introduced.
Whincup's best result over the last six races is 9th, while Lowndes - currently leading the championship ahead of Holden's James Courtney and Ford's Mark Winterbottom - is seventh.
"We've had some good ones there in past, but certainly it has been struggle street the last couple of years," said Whincup.
"We're going to go as prepared as we can this time.
"Back in fifth, a few points down now, we can't afford to have any more real bad runs.
"Fingers crossed we can turn it around."
Organisers will not change the format of this weekend's event despite criticism from several drivers of the Supersprint formula during the previous round.
Teams will, however, be allowed a set of unused hard tyres for Friday's practice ahead of the two 25-lap sprints on Saturday and longer race on Sunday.
Winterbottom is among those happy with new allocation, which will make the opening sessions more meaningful for teams and drivers.
The first one-hour hitout begins at 9.50am (AEST) on Friday.
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