Double DNF caps one to forget for HRT.

The HRT team endured a weekend to forget on the Gold Coast, with a double DNF in the final race at Surfers Paradise capping a difficult V8 Supercar challenge for Holden crew.

For Skaife, things didn't get any better following his accident with Rick Kelly during practice on Friday, with a coming together with Mark Winterbottom during the opening race further hitting his hopes of success.

Although he battled through the field to finish eighth in race two, the final race would contain further disappointment when an engine failure forced him to retire - meaning he picked up just ten points from the weekend.

"Things turned sour on Friday with the crash between myself and Rick Kelly," he said. "The car was never quite right after that and it will need to be straightened for Bahrain. You're always going to be in trouble at Surfer's if the car is unstable, and that showed through the weekend. Losing an engine in race three did not help either."

However, if Skaife's weekend was tough, then team-mate Todd Kelly's was nothing short of a disaster as he failed to pick up any points from the three races.

Having been forced out of race one after damaging the steering on his Commodore, a similar problem in race two meant Kelly could only take the flag in 26th place - leaving him with everything to do in the final race to take something from the weekend. However, it wasn't to be for Kelly as he exited a corner to find cars stopped on track and was forced into the wall as a result.

"I turned the corner on lap five and the track was completely blocked leaving me nowhere to go," he said. "I braked but hit a wall and broke the steering rack. It was a miserable weekend all round, with no decent finishes and no points."