FRIDAY, MARCH 19: In-form Ford driver James Courtney expects the opportunity to finally drive a current-specification Falcon at Albert Park will improve his results in next week's V8 Supercar events at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne (March 25-28).
"In the past couple of years I was off the pace at Albert Park," said the Jim Beam Racing driver. "That's because I had to drive older cars while the Falcon I had been racing was being fixed up after crashes."
"Next week I'll be going there with my regular '2010-spec' car which should be much more competitive. I'm keen to see what I can do and hopefully run with the front group. The track is flat and quick in places with some good passing points."
Courtney is third in this year's V8 Supercar Championship after three events, and fresh from finishing second in both races at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on March 13-14. He clocked the fastest lap in both races, and also set a new race lap record in race two in his FG Falcon.
In 2009 the 29-year-old Gold Coast-based driver was forced to race at Albert Park in a BF Falcon fitted with an H-pattern gearbox. He had crashed his new FG Falcon in Adelaide a week earlier and the car could not be repaired before the three non-championship races in Melbourne.
Not surprisingly, Courtney qualified 26th, finished 15th and 21st in the opening two races on the 5.3km circuit and was forced to retire from race three because of gearbox issues.
In 2008 Courtney, then driving for Stone Brothers Racing, crashed a new Falcon at Adelaide and at Albert Park he switched to the team's 'spare' car, driven by Russell Ingall the previous year. He qualified 13th, and finished 24th, 14th, and seventh in the three races.
Courtney said that while the three 13-lap races at Albert Park did not have championship status, it would make no difference to his motivation to win.
"I'm a racer and once the lights go green I'll be flat-out going for the win the same as anywhere else," he said.
"This event has a high international profile because of the Formula One aspect, so it's also a good chance to get exposure for my sponsors - the best way to do that is to win!"
The V8 Supercars will have practice and qualifying sessions next Thursday (March 25), with one race on each of the following three days. The final V8 Supercar race will be held before the second round of the Formula One world championship.
Courtney was a Formula One test driver for Jaguar in the early 1990s during a decade of racing overseas. During that time he raced against current Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, and Heikki Kovalainen in either karts, Formula Ford, or Formula Three.
"Racing overseas was a great experience, but I don't regret coming back to live in Australia," said Courtney. "I'm enjoying V8 Supercars, which is very competitive, and the lifestyle here suits me better."
