Mark Winterbottom has been here before and he doesn’t want to come back.

The 2013 Bathurst champion and season runner-up is heading to Phillip Island with the V8 Supercars championship out of his hands.

It’s a repeat of the last three seasons – Jamie Whincup in front, everyone else behind.

The 2014 edition shapes to be Whincup’s most dominant triumph, and second-placed Winterbottom is taking it harder than most.

“It’s tough but the same time you keep trying to do something different, do something better, if we do it all right I know we can win it,” he said.

“Over the 12 months of the year we just don’t do a good enough job.”

Winterbottom wants to flip the scenario.

“Just once it’d be nice to be talking about us having a 300-point gap on the other bloke going into the last round,” he said.

“I’ve done that too many times.”

There have been plenty of race wins – including most memorably last year’s Bathurst 1000 crown – along the way for Winterbottom, but the championship has eluded him.

Winterbottom has piloted his Falcon into the top five of the last eight championships – five of which have been won by Whincup – a streak that should continue this season.

Ahead of the season’s penultimate meet on Phillip Island this weekend, Winterbottom trails Whincup by 402 points – with just 600 points to race for.

Ford legend Dick Johnson said earlier this week it would take an earthquake to stop Whincup.

The 33-year-old Winterbottom has vowed to fight on, but has a realistic outlook on his prospects.

“It’s pretty unrealistic to claw back so many points but you don’t give up,” he said.

“You want it to come down to the last round, having it wrapped up a round early is bad for the sport.

“But there’s a reason they’re that far ahead at the moment. They’ve done a better job.”

With a similar high-grip surface at Phillip Island to the track at Bathurst, where Ford has done well in recent years, Winterbottom could at least eat into Whincup’s lead.

Winterbottom and his fellow Falcon drivers are also running out of races to avoid an unwanted record.

Should Ford fail to win a pole position on the Island or at the season-ending meet at Sydney Olympic Park, it will be the first time the Blue Oval failed to start a race from the front during a season since 1986.