After Richie Stanaway's infamous Townsville blow-up, his Supercars outfit Tickford Racing declared the rookie had moved on.
On Thursday at Bathurst, it became clear the Kiwi was still battling through a frustrating maiden campaign.
Richie Stanaway didn’t expect to be in third-last place in his rookie season.
Stanaway arrived as a full-time driver in the series with a superb pedigree, including race wins in the World Endurance Championship and fine runs in the Le Mans 24-hour classic.
When he combined with Cam Waters to win last year's Sandown 500, Stanaway's was considered as one of Supercars' next big things.
Yet it hasn't happened yet for the 26-year-old.
This year, he has a single top-10 finish to his name.
Frustrations boiled over at the Reid Park circuit in July, where Stanaway vented steam at a team tyre blunder by drifting his Falcon around corners.
Stanaway didn't expect to be winning races in his first year – but he didn't expect to be slumming it in third-last place either.
It came as a nice surprise then that he topped the timing charts in practice for the Bathurst 1000, joining fellow Ford drivers Will Davison and Alex Premat as the quickest during Thursday's three sessions.
So had Stanaway had turned a corner from his antics in North Queensland?
"Not really. I feel the same every weekend," he said.
"I had a few rounds where I get a bit of confidence back … then a few rounds where I lose confidence.
"I've had my confidence knocked back (but) a rookie season is about learning. No one expects you to be up the front and I haven't expected to be up the front."
Stanaway suggested the Falcon – which is set to be replaced by the Mustang in 2019 – was the chief source of his frustrations.
Teammates Mark Winterbottom (12th in the championship), Chaz Mostert (eighth) and Waters (17th) are also battling away.
"If Mark and Chaz and Cam were 1-2-3 and I was where I've been all season, then obviously I'd be criticising myself a lot more," he said.
"We can't qualify and we can't do more than three laps of the race with pace."
There is one hope for Stanaway and the Falcon pack this year in Bathurst – he hopes the weather forecast is inaccurate and rain drenches Mt Panorama during Sunday's big race.
"We're not remotely close to the pace in the dry to get any kind of result, the only hope for us is rain," he said.
AAP
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