James Courtney

James Courtney
James Courtney at the Macau Grand Prix in 2002.
V8 Supercar Record
Nationality Australian
Car # 22
Current team Holden Racing Team
Series Championships 1 (2010)
Races 85
Round Wins 3
Podium finishes 16
Race Wins 8
Pole positions 3
2011 Championship position 10th (1869 pts)

James Courtney (born 29 June 1980 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar Championship. He is the current Australian Touring Car Champion after winning the 2010 title for Dick Johnson Racing.[1]

Courtney has raced and was successful in several other categories, most of which are regarded as the stepping stones to Formula 1. He was World Junior Karting Champion in 1995 and world Formula A Champion in 1997.[2] He was British Formula Ford champion in 2000 and broke the record for winning the most Formula Ford races in one season. He drove for the Jaguar Junior Formula Three team in 2001, impressively winning his first F3 race on his F3 debut. He was also a test driver for Jaguar's Formula One team. Injuries from a high-speed test crash at Monza in 2002, due to failure of the rear wing on the Jaguar F1 car, led to him missing some races in that year's British Formula Three Championship so he could not win the title - although he was easily leading it at that stage. In 2003, he was All-Japan Formula Three champion for the TOM'S team.[3][4] In 2004 and 2005 he raced in the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship for Toyota.

Courtney is managed by BTCC/TOCA boss Alan J. Gow, who was instrumental in his European open-wheeler career leading to his testing role with Jaguar Racing. He appeared in the 2007 season of Dancing with the Stars, on the Seven Network.

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Jaguar F1 Testing Crash

While testing for the Jaguar Racing Formula One team in Monza in 2002, the rear suspension failed on Courtney's car, sending him into the barrier at 306 km/h. The car hit with such force that it bounced back from the wall at 70 km/h, causing Courtney to suffer an impact estimated at 67G. When he regained consciousness, he found Michael Schumacher shouting at him, trying to translate for the Italian track marshals who could not speak English. Courtney "freaked out" when he found that he could not move the right side of his body and was bleeding from his eyes. He explained that "it took me a year to recover. I couldn't walk without getting a migraine. Anything would set it off. Noise, light, anything."[5]

V8 Supercar

James Courtney debuted in V8 Supercars in 2005 with the Holden Racing Team in the endurance races with co-driving with Jim Richards but enjoyed limited success.

Stone Brothers Racing

In 2006, he joined Ford team Stone Brothers Racing to replace two time champion Marcos Ambrose. He crashed the car on debut in Adelaide but recovered to finished third in the 2006 Bathurst 1000 and followed it up with a second place in the 2007 Bathurst 1000. On 19 July 2008 Courtney collected his first V8 Supercar race win, taking out race one of the City of Ipswich 400 at Queensland Raceway. He finished the year sixth in the championship.

Dick Johnson Racing

In 2009, he switched to Dick Johnson Racing. He was given a brand new Triple Eight Race Engineering built Ford FG Falcon and was regarded by many as a serious threat for the title. This came undone at the start of the year, with an accident marred start to the season. Courtney took wins at the new tracks, Townsville and Sydney and finish the year in seventh.

In 2010, Courtney his best season to date, with podiums at Adelaide, Melbourne GP and Hamilton, and five race wins; two each at Queensland Raceway and Winton, and one at Sandown. He won the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series, ahead of 2009 V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup. It marks the first time in 15 years that a Dick Johnson Racing entry has won the championship. In the immediate post-season however Courtney signed a deal to leave the team and join the Holden Racing Team.[6]

Holden Racing Team

Since joining Holden Racing Team, Courtney has endured limited success, taking just one race win at the 2011 Yas V8 400. He is well behind in the points race compared to his team mate Garth Tander.

Personal life

Courtney is married and has a daughter named Zara, and a younger son named Cadel, was born with a twin sister, and resides near the Gold Coast, Queensland. He has done so since driving for Stone Brothers Racing in 2006. He is an enthusiast of quality watches, an avid cyclist, and currently drives a Range Rover. [7]

Career results

Season Series Position Car Team
1999 British Formula Ford Championship 5th Van Diemen RF99 Ford
2000 British Formula Ford Championship 1st Van Diemen RF00 Ford
2001 British Formula 3 Championship 4th Dallara 301 Mugen-Honda Jaguar Junior Team
2002 British Formula 3 Championship 2nd Dallara 302 Mugen-Honda Carlin Motorsport
2003 Formula Nippon Championship 13th Lola B3/51 Mugen-Honda Team 5Zigen
2003 All-Japan Formula 3 Championship 1st Dallara 302 TOM's-Toyota TOM'S
2004 Japanese Super GT Series 13th Toyota Supra TOM'S
2005 Japanese Super GT Series 7th Toyota Supra TOM'S
2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 47th Holden VZ Commodore Holden Racing Team
2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 11th Ford BA Falcon Stone Brothers Racing
2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 9th Ford BF Falcon Stone Brothers Racing
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series 6th Ford BF Falcon Stone Brothers Racing
2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series 7th Ford FG Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 1st Ford FG Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2011 International V8 Supercars Championship 10th Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team

References

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Nicolas Kiesa
British Formula Ford
Champion

2000
Succeeded by
Robert Dahlgren
Preceded by
Takashi Kogure
All-Japan Formula Three
Champion

2003
Succeeded by
Ronnie Quintarelli
Preceded by
Jamie Whincup
Winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series
2010
Succeeded by
Jamie Whincup
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Will Davison
Barry Sheene Medal
2010
Succeeded by
Craig Lowndes