Courtney seeks repeat

HIGH- PROFILE driver James Courtney is striving to repeat his 2015 Gold Coast heroics to make his Holden Racing Team’s turbulent Bathurst outing a distant memory.

He and co-driver Jack Perkins took victory in the Sunday Surfers Paradise race last year, capping a stunning injury comeback for Courtney and marking Perkins’ first win in Supercars. Courtney hailed it an “excellent” memory.

“It was Jack’s first ever win – he has been living sort of in his father’s shadow for a long time and for him to get a win of his own and step out of the shadow was fantastic,” he said.

“It was pretty emotional on the podium for me as well with everything that had gone on previously with the accident with the helicopter.”

HRT are traditionally quick in race trim but it was strategy that got the job done that day, with Courtney effectively jumping to the top of the queue by refuelling twice during a single safety car period.

He is determined to do it all again and clinch his first race win since March.

“I love racing on the Gold Coast,” he said.

“I’ve had good success there, not only last year but previously as well so pretty excited to get out there and get it all done and forget about last weekend.”

The last weekend he is re- ferring to is the Bathurst 1000. A cruel case of bad timing hurt Courtney’s chances at the Mountain: the safety car being deployed just one lap before Perkins was due to complete his minimum stint and hand the car back.

That shuffled the No.22 down the order to an eventual 13th-place finish, not helped by time lost in the pits behind teammate Garth Tander.

Courtney was also handed a 25-point penalty for punting Nissan’s Todd Kelly.

Worst of all for HRT was a late race-ending collision for Tander, who had been jostling with fellow victory contenders Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin.

Despite Whincup and McLaughlin both being issued penalties, Courtney noted Tander was not fully without blame.

“Probably he could have done something differently to avoid the accident as well,” Courtney said.

“In the end you have three- millionths of a second to decide which side to go and (he) picked the wrong one.”

Courtney will continue with the Walkinshaw squad for the next three years. However, it will be Scott Pye not Holden stalwart Tander who will be alongside him from 2017 when the famous HRT branding crosses to Red Bull.

Courtney said it will be disappointing not to have Tander on board but promised the team’s future looks “really, really exciting”.