Supercars news 2024: Real estate agent James Courtney eyes first Bathurst win at 20th attempt
With just days until the Bathurst 1000, Supercars veteran and real estate agent James Courtney knows his time in the sport is almost up, but ahead of his 20th trip to the track he hopes it’s time for his first win.
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Part-time real estate agent James Courtney will enter his 20th tilt at the Bathurst 1000 next week with greater confidence after reuniting with Jack Perkins in pursuit of his first Mount Panorama crown.
Courtney has reached the elite status of a championship win back in 2010, but has had to settle for four podium finishes in his 19 cracks at Bathurst.
He will reunite with Perkins for their fifth attempt, and Courtney is hoping for a similar showing to their third-placed finish when they last teamed up in 2019.
The Blanchard Racing duo finished 18th in the Sandown 500 in early September and know they can perform much better when the Supercars head to the spiritual home of motorsport next week.
“Confidence is higher this year than it has been for the last couple of years,” Courtney said.
“I’ve got a good, steady pair of hands in Jack Perkins with me.
“The last few years leading into this one we’ve had first timers and things have gone wrong throughout the day and because they’re inexperienced it’s sort of blown out.”
COURTNEY’S BIG SHIFT
The 44-year-old is currently balancing fulltime Supercars duties with selling property on the beautiful Gold Coast as he looks to transition out of the car at the end of 2025.
“Racing’s coming to an end so I had to get something underway,” Courtney said.
“I’m dabbling in real estate and doing some stuff with McGrath which has been fantastic.
“The big wide world out there is pretty scary. I thought I should get in early before the end so I had something to roll into and I’m really enjoying it.
“You can bring a lot of skills that we’ve learnt through teamwork and all that sort of stuff within racing into the afterlife.”
He admits that the adjustment will take some getting used to as he transitions from life in the fast lane towards the a new role.
“Someone in the office told me I need to calm down a little bit,” he said.
“I think I’m a bit too demanding for the normal office scenario.
“There are little things that I have to adjust, but I’m loving it.”
TOYOTA GETS TICK OF APPROVAL
The Supercars roared into Sydney on Monday to signal 10 days until one of the world’s most iconic motorsport races, with Courtney joining fellow drivers Garth Tander and Richie Stanaway, Supercars CEO Shane Howard and TV bosses to commence the road to Bathurst.
“It’s the most iconic event in Australian racing history and recognised globally as one of the most challenging and difficult races to win,” Howard said.
“We have over 200,000 people attend the event and a global audience in the order of 300 million, so it’s a very special event.”
Earlier this month Toyota was confirmed to join the championship from 2026 onwards in a move that has been well received from two of the event’s most experienced drivers.
Tander said to have a brand with as much prestige as Toyota join was a major coup for the sport.
“It’s exciting for the sport. There’s no getting away from the fact Toyota is a massive global car brand and is the biggest car brand in Australia,” he said.
“They’ve been looking at Supercars for 20-odd years, and the fact they’ve chosen now to join in is exciting for the sport.
“With Ford and GM being the pillars of our sport for such a long time, to see another big player come and join in Supercars is exciting.”
Tander hopes this is just the start of more brands joining the fold.
“I really hope it opens the floodgates for more manufacturers as well,” he said.
“If you’re a major automotive brand in Australia right now and you’re sitting in a boardroom going ‘wow, Toyota have been thinking about this for 20 years and now they’ve decided to jump in’, there must be something in that.
“I have no doubt that all the major brands in Australia have had meetings in the wake of the Toyota announcement to revisit whether Supercars is viable for them.”
Courtney echoed those sentiments and said the desire of Toyota to become involved was a sign of the Gen3 Supercars working.
“It’s massive. It’s so good for the championship,” Courtney said.
“It shows there’s a lot of merit in investing in Supercars and the growth is there. The Gen3 platform that Supercars has put in place has worked out really well and has attracted other manufacturers like we were pushing for.
“It’s great for everyone involved.”
TANDER CHASES NUMBER SIX
Tander sits in a share of sixth overall for the most Bathurst wins with five over the course of his career.
He stands only behind iconic names of the sport in Peter Brock, Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife, Jim Richards and Larry Perkins.
This will be his 27th time taking on the mountain as he looks to add to his haul of eight top-three finishes.
Tander said he still realises how lucky he is to be living out a dream on the biggest stage.
“Every year is a pinch yourself moment when you drive into town,” he said.
“I can still remember watching it on TV as a kid. The fact that I’ve had success is something I pinch myself about every day.
“I see it as very fortunate that I’ve been able to have some success at Bathurst.”
After finishing fifth last year with David Reynolds, Tander said some good recent form with co-driver Matt Payne have the duo primed for a strong showing.
“I feel really good coming into it,” he said.
“I’m coming off a really strong result at Sandown with Matt. The Penrite Mustangs were fast there last year and I feel like we’ve got a better package this year than we had last year.
“I’m excited, but there’s 52 drivers that are excited right now. There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge but I’m looking forward to getting into it.”
TV RIGHTS UP FOR GRABS
The Supercars showpiece will again be broadcast on the screens of Foxtel, Seven and Kayo to beam the event into homes, pubs and clubs across the country.
The current broadcast deal ends at the conclusion of the 2025 season following on from a $200m five-year deal signed back in 2020.
Howard praised the support of their television partners and anticipated they would feature prominently in discussions to continue that partnership beyond 2025.
“We’ve got fantastic media partners,” Howard said.
“Having both Seven West and Foxtel involved in the sport really takes it to another level.”
Originally published as Supercars news 2024: Real estate agent James Courtney eyes first Bathurst win at 20th attempt
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