The halfway mark looms for the Dunlop Series but two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner still has no idea how he is faring in the second-tier V8 Supercars category.
Bad luck has ensured more often than not Stoner has been in the wrong place at the wrong time in the incident-packed series, relegating him to a bun fight at the back of the field once the dust has settled.
Stoner admitted battling with backmarkers was making it hard to gauge his switch from two wheels to four.
“I haven’t had a chance to see how I am going because unfortunately I have been at the back most races,” Stoner told Channel Seven.
He clearly has the pace in his Red Bull Holden but faces a steep learning curve on how to manage tyres, passing and general V8 racing stuck at the back of the pack.
“The last two rounds I have been very unlucky. It’s a bit frustrating,” Stoner said.
“But at the same time it is fantastic racing guys at the back.”
Stoner again couldn’t take a trick when round three action concluded in Townsville on Sunday.
Despite finishing 14th in the earlier race on Sunday, Stoner started 26th – fourth-last – for the round finale after the grid was decided on combined points from the previous two events.
Then a brace of huge crashes ensured the safety car emerged not once but twice before a lap could even be completed in the 18-lap round finale.
And Stoner came off second best each time.
“How much bad luck can one bloke have,” said four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy, who is a Dunlop Series TV commentator for Channel Seven.
Leading Ford V8 Supercars driver Will Davison could not believe the opening carnage.
“It’s madness. They haven’t even completed a lap. It’s pretty dangerous.”
After placing dead last following more race one misfortune in Townsville on Saturday, Stoner placed 14th – equalling his season best – in race two before finishing 15th in the incident-packed round finale on Sunday.
Stoner said before the Townsville round he was considering taking a year off after the seven round Dunlop Series.
“Unfortunately this year it’s been basically as busy as any other year,” the 27-year-old said.
“The idea of it (Dunlop Series) was just perfect to me but it’s been a lot busier than what I wanted it to be.
“I really just need a year off.”