V8 star ‘unpaid’ for two months
GOLD Coast Supercars driver James Courtney says he was not paid a cent during his failed two-month stint with Team Sydney.
In a salary snubbing that led to his shock decision to walk away from the V8 start-up, Courtney said Team Sydney failed to make a single payment after luring him from Walkinshaw Andretti United to be the face of their team.
It is believed Courtney demanded two months worth of unpaid wages before terminating his deal after just one event.
“There wasn’t one thing,’’ Courtney said. “There were several things. What we agreed to, nearly all of it changed.
“It was every aspect of it (the deal) changed from what we agreed to.
“I came away from Adelaide and had a meeting on the Monday which was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
In his first full interview since announcing the V8 divorce, Courtney said he gave Team Sydney a one-week deadline to honour “several obligations”.
“It all came to a head after the first round,” Courtney said.
“I sat down with them on the Monday and voiced my opinion. I told them that we had an agreement and it wasn’t being honoured.
“I suggested different ways that I was willing to work with them to make it work, but in the end, it didn’t happen.
“I made the final decision on the Saturday after giving a week to try to make it all work.
“The deadline was the end of the working week and it wasn’t met.”
Courtney began his contract with Team Sydney on January 1 after ending a nineyear stint with Holden giant Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Hailed by experts as the allSydney partnership that would put NSW motorsport back on the map, Courtney quit after his first full race weekend with the team.
Walking away from a fulltime drive and ending his 14year V8 career for now, Courtney has not given up on returning to the sport.
“I have had a lot of support from my partners like Boost Mobile since it happened,” Courtney said.
“It is no secret that I am working with those guys to try to make something happen, whether it be in a Supercar or something else.”
Team Sydney, who did not return phone calls yesterday, have announced Alex Davison as Courtney’s replacement, starting at this weekend’s Supercars round at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.