Big Q&A with Supercars driver James Courtney at Gold Coast 600
Supercars driver James Courtney has some exciting goals on the horizon. The Gold Coaster has joined a new alliance between Sydney businessman Rod Salmon and Tekno Autosports. Today he talks about what the move means to him.
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SUPERCARS driver James Courtney has some exciting goals on the horizon. The Gold Coaster has joined a new alliance between Sydney businessman Rod Salmon and Tekno Autosports. Today he talks about what the move means to him.
After a long period of speculation, you finally confirmed your future was with Supercars new Tekno Autosports team in 2020 in Sydney. Is it a relief to have all the rumours end?
Yeah. It’s good to get it out there so I can get on with it now. It would be good to finish off the year strong and then start fresh for next year.
Do you believe this move could be the one that finally delivers you a second Supercars championship?
Yeah, that is the reason I’m doing it. I think it’s a good move. It’s probably unusual that there isn’t a team based in Sydney. There is a huge following, especially out west of Sydney. It’s a heartland for the sport. It’s sort of like what Ipswich is for Queensland. Sydney is that for Supercars down in NSW. It’s a big group, it has a lot of potential with the partnership with (Sydney businessman) Rod (Salmon) and (Tekno owner) Jon Webb. We are running good equipment with the Triple Eight cars which is exciting.
What was your greatest motivation to make the risky and bold decision to leave your team to join a completely new set-up?
There was a bit of talk about it for a while with a few people regarding what was happening and about it happening in western Sydney. Being from western Sydney originally, I’m born and bred out there, it makes it a bit of a passion project as well.
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When did the new Tekno team first come to you with the offer to join?
There was a bit of talk for months and months of it happening. They needed to find the right people for the right places and people who wanted to get involved and be part of it. There was a lot of pulling together and work behind the scenes for many people and it’s good it’s all come together and happening finally.
You have been based on the Gold Coast since 2006. Will you move to Sydney with the team?
No. I’ll still live on the Coast. I just moved back to Hope Island but my sister and some family are down there so I’ll be able to visit them more.
The new team will be running two cars. Who would be your ideal teammate if you had the choice of anyone?
Anyone but Jack Perkins would be great. I’m stuck with that guy for a while. Honestly, I don’t know, it’s tough to find good teammates. You always want someone who is quick and competitive and you can bounce off and have a good relationship with and a bit of a laugh. In an ideal scenario someone like Craig Lowndes would be good but he has packed it in.
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Your sole Gold Coast 600 win came in race 2 of the 2015 event, what was that like?
That was with (co-driver) Jack (Perkins). We have had a really good run there. We were third on the Saturday last year too and leading the race on the Sunday before it got red flagged and then cancelled.
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If it had of gone two more laps or something it would have been called an official race and we would have had another win. I love the street circuits. Adelaide I have had a lot of success at and Gold Coast and Townsville as well. All those events have been really good to us. My last podium before Bathurst last round was at the Gold Coast 600 last year so had nearly been 12 months which is scary.
What were your emotions like when last year’s Gold Coast 600 was abandoned due to the weather, knowing how close you were to another win and how tough they have been to come by?
Frustrating. Even if they just sent us out with the safety car and rolled around the circuit behind the safety car it would have been good. It’s just annoying. Not only for us in the car but all the boys who put in ridiculous hours on the cars and guys and girls who work with the team. When we win they win as well. It’s very much a team effort.
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On TV it looks like it’s just us but there are so many people behind the scenes that make it all happen. It’s great to be able to reward those guys with victory as well. It was disappointing but on the other hand we were there and we did everything we could. It was just mother nature that stopped us. It would have been nice if we had a couple of laps under the safety car.
Shane van Gisbergen voiced his frustrations last year that there wasn’t more flexibility with the broadcast when the GC600 was abandoned because of a storm and TV network commitments. What were your thoughts on it before they made changes this year?
The drama is they could see (the storm) was coming and knew it was going to be a big storm. We stand around and spend a lot of time looking at the cars waiting for the race time but ideally it would have been great to say, ‘the storm is coming, let’s go’. But realistically we have broadcast rights and people pay a lot of money and there are other plans that have been put in place for us to start and finish at a certain time.
Why do you think you have been so successful on the street circuits?
I don’t know. They say it’s bravery or stupidity that rewards, one of the two. I like the challenge of a street circuit. It’s an ever-evolving circuit. It’s crazy with the wall so close. Gold Coast has all the big kerbs and everything. It’s exciting. It’s a great event, and having such a good atmosphere helps everything as well.
What are your thoughts on night racing? Do you like the idea?
It would be good. If it’s raining it could be a bit sketchy with the lights but look, it’s the same for everyone. They are making advances in the technology and taking steps to make it better. I think it would be perfect.
There was a bizarre incident on day one of the event with water spilling on to the track in the final practice session of the day. It appeared to be a leak coming from behind the wall. How did you find driving through it?
Yeah I couldn’t work out what had happened out there. I couldn’t really see the water because of the glare from the sun hitting the ground. The car barked up and went sideways so I had to grab a handful of the wheel and hang on.
The other cars had the same problem before it was fixed. On your opening day, you were fourth in practice one, your co-driver Jack Perkins was fifth in practice two and you were ninth in the third. How did you find the car and how it responded to the track in general
It felt really good. Jack tried to rip the side out of it during practice two but he did well. I’m happy we are still clean and able to compete. We were chipping away and the program we are working with has been good so we will just keep going forward.
You got your start in racing through karting and had huge success. How much did that form a base for your future?
Karting is a big part of what I do and it’s been a big win for me giving back to the sport through JC Karting. The sport has provided me a living and got me this far into life without having a real job, which is fantastic. Anything I can do to give back to the sport, I’m willing to do it. Everything we learn and do for Supercars now is what we learnt as race craft from karting. You can start when you are seven and go all the way through. If you try to race a car or do any sort of racing without junior categories where you are learning the fine techniques then you will always be handicapped. If anyone is interested in getting involved in racing they should start with karting.
Your old karting teammate Davide Fore came out from Italy to compete for your team in the Race of Stars international event last weekend at Pimpama. Was it good to link up again?
It was a very steep learning curve for me when I went overseas to race with those guys. Those guys were so welcoming and I learnt a lot of my craft from guys like Davide who I raced against when we were teammates through my karting career. It was really special to have him part of it (last weekend). He is a five-time world karting champion so he has definitely got the credits in the bank. The karting stars they put on each year just before our race at the Gold Coast is a great idea to showcase the sport.
DRIVER BIO:
Name: James Courtney
Age: 39
Born: Penrith, NSW
Lives: Hope Island, Gold Coast
Car number: 25
Current team: Walkinshaw Andretti
Team for 2020: Tekno Autosports
Supercars championships: 1 (2010)
Current series position: 11th
Average qualifying position: 13.7
Average finishing position: 12.7
Races: 414 Race wins: 15
Podium finishes: 67
Interests outside of racing: Family, training, cycling, JC Karts
Personal vehicle: Holden Insignia VXR
Engineer: Terry Kerr
Supercars debut: 2005 at Sandown while co-driving with Jim Richards
Other title wins: World Junior Karting champion (1995), World Formula A champion (1997), British Formula Ford championship (2000), All-Japan Formula Three championship (2003).
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