James Courtney

Who would have given James Courtney any chance at the title after four rounds last year? It isn’t as if he hadn’t been competitive it was just that Jamie Whincup was unbeatable…and it was beginning to look as if the two-time defending champion was on his way for a third title on the bounce. And yet, it happened. The 30-year old Courtney took on the best team and top driver and managed to hold until the final race of the season. Making it more difficult was the fact that his team, Dick Johnson Racing, was struggling after making some changes to the squad.

Like all drivers who have goals of reaching Formula One, (the Sydney native was once the reserve driver at Jaguar), Courtney raced in Europe taking the British Formula Ford and Formula 3 titles, before heading to Japan in 2003 to compete in F3 and Super GT. But when he returned home to race in V8 Supercars he was greeted with open arms. He made his debut in 2005 as team mate to Jim Richards in the endurance races. In a bit of irony: it was the HRT team that gave him his big break, the team he races for today. In the interim he drove a Ford, with two years at Stone Brothers Racing before moving to Dick Johnson Racing for another two seasons, where he was able to prove he is among the very best. However, with Courtney you got the impression it was all or nothing and that over the long haul he wasn’t quite ready to make a serious run at the championship. But that all changed in 2010.

For 2011, he will have the honour of carrying the number 1 for his new employer, HRT, which desperately wants to return to its winning ways. Making this even more challenging for Courtney is the switch from a Ford chassis to a Holden, but he if he maintains his 2010 form, he will be tough to beat.