Bathurst 2021: James Courtney signs new deal with Tickford Racing

James Courtney may be the oldest driver on the Supercars circuit but he’s confident he has plenty left in the tank.

DAILY TELEGRAPH – Pictured is James Courtney during the Co-Driver practice session at Mount Panorama Raceway in Bathurst today ahead of this weekends Bathurst 1000. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Supercars veteran James Courtney has vowed to keep the sport’s next generation honest after signing a new deal that will keep him racing into his mid-40s.

The oldest driver on the Supercars grid, the 41-year-old former series champion said he was confident he had plenty more left in the tank after re-signing on a multi-year deal with Tickford Racing.

Courtney is in his second year with the Tickford Racing squad after a short-lived stint with Team Sydney at the start of last year’s championship.

The new deal will take Courtney into a 17th season and beyond in Supercars after making his debut as a full-time driver for Stone Brothers Racing in 2006.

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James Courtney is confident he can keep up with the younger drivers. Picture: Scott Powick Newscorp

Courtney, the 2010 Supercars champion, said he was enjoying his racing as much as ever and was confident he could remain competitive.

“If you had asked me 10 years ago if I would still be wanting to be racing into my mid-40s I would have laughed,” Courtney said.

“I know everyone says it but I feel better than I ever have when I’m in the car.

“I’m certainly not reaching for a walking stick or anything like that, I think I’m still pretty fit.

“I don’t think I’m sweating half as much as the young blokes getting out either. I think I can hold my own still.

“The unique thing with our sport is I don’t think age has as much of a factor as what it does with ball sports.

“There is a little bit of an element to it with being reactionary but I think as a sport we can prolong our career a lot longer than others.”

James Courtney isn’t ready to retire just yet. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

Courtney holds the title of the oldest Supercars driver ahead of Team 18’s Mark Winterbottom (40) and Will Davison and Fabian Coulthard (both 39).

He is 20 years older than the youngest driver on the Supercars grid – Jake Kostecki.

Courtney sits ninth in the 2021 Supercars championship and he said he would use the new deal as motivation for the rest of the season, which resumes at Sydney Motorsport Park after a three-month lay-off at the end of the month.

“These last two years at Tickford have been amazing for me,” Courtney said.

“Personally, I’ve had a lot of crap that’s gone over the last few years and that’s all settled down now and I’ve got a good stable partner, the racing is going really well, the kids are just about to be 12 and 14 and things are really good personally.

“I haven’t enjoyed my racing this much in forever … since karting. When you’re passionate and you’re having a good time and you’re loving it, you perform well.”

Courtney discovered after the double-header at Townsville in July – the last time Supercars were on track – he had raced with a broken shoulder he injured playing rugby with his son.

He said the injury, which included fractures and ligament damage, had healed well.

“It’s all good now, I can move it all around now,” Courtney said.

“I’m too busy trying not to die and thinking about winning to worry about it when I’m in the car. I’m probably used to having pain because I’ve experienced a little bit in my time.

“By the time I found out (about the damage), it was too late to do anything and we weren’t racing anymore so I didn’t do anything but hurt it and now it’s all good.”

SUPERSTAR’S PLEDGE AFTER 2021 BATHURST BOMBSHELL

By – James Phelps

Scott McLaughlin has declared he will race in next year’s Bathurst 1000 after a Covid revised calendar cost him his shot at chasing a second Mount Panorama title.

Admitting he was disappointed not to be returning to Australia to drive a Supercar, the new IndyCar star revealed that he had already told Dick Johnson Racing boss Ryan Story that he would return to Mount Panorama to race next year.

McLaughlin won the Bathurst title in 2019 but had to settle for fifth in 2020 after his co-driver Tim Slade was forced to drive extra laps when an untimely yellow-flag ruined their pit-stop strategy.

“I have already said to Ryan that I am ready to go for next year if he wants me,” McLaughlin said.

“I told him to make it happen.”

Speaking from the US after being crowned IndyCar rookie driver of the year, McLaughlin said he pulled out of this year’s Bathurst 1000 because he didn’t want to race with a “half-arse” preparation.

“I was there if I could,” McLaughlin said.

“But with the quarantine and a few things going on it was proving difficult and a little hard to commit at the level I want to commit. I am not prepared to come back to Australia and do it half arsed. I need to be able to do a proper seat fit, practice my first driver changes in a year and a bit.”

McLaughlin said Covid restrictions were to blame for his Bathurst no-show.

Scott McLaughlin will not be back for Bathurst.

“I really wanted to get down under and go to a test day and work all the stuff out before Bathurst,” the Penske driver said.

“I think I owed that to DJR and the drivers I was going to drive with. I wanted to make sure I would put my best foot forward and unfortunately the way it is with quarantine and lockdown I couldn’t commit that sort of time away from the team.”

McLaughlin has not raced in Australia since winning both the V8 titles and the Bathurst crown last year.

“We knew from the beginning of the season that Scott’s availability to race with us this year would rest on a number of factors, including the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic along with the INDYCAR schedule,” said DJR boss Ryan Story.

“Unfortunately, the timing just hasn’t aligned how we’d hoped.

“Alex is a quality driver who has a history with this team, and of course pairing him with his brother makes them a terrific combination for this year’s Great Race. He has been spending a lot of time with us here at the workshop, getting to know the cars and the team and learning how we operate.”

McLaughlin will stay in the US and prepare for the 2022 IndyCar season.

Originally published as Bathurst 2021: James Courtney signs new deal with Tickford Racing