Former Supercars champion James Courtney has announced that next 12 months might be his last as a full-time driver within the series.
He has been an everyday within the category for 14 years, having won the title in 2010, but Courtney, 44, told Australian news agency 9 Gold Coast News that he’ll retire after the 2025 season to concentrate on his profession in real estate.
“I’ll finish this year and next year will be next year and that will be my full-time job,” said Courtney, who currently sits 18th within the Blanchard Racing Team standings this 12 months, with a best finish to this point of sixth.
“I’ve had an incredibly successful profession, I’ve had a whole lot of fun, and I need to finish it on my terms.
“Real estate is my first real job now because racing has been my whole life until now.
“I'm coming to the tip of the racing a part of my life and I saw [real estate] as a natural progression.
“I have always had a great interest in real estate, whether it was buying or selling my own homes.”
James Courtney, Blanchard Racing Team, Ford Mustang GT
Photo: Edge Photographics
Courtney was regarded as a possible Formula One driver after winning the Junior Karting World Championship in 1995 and the Formula A World Championship two years later.
He then found glory within the British Formula Ford in 2000, and the next 12 months he was promoted to the British Formula 3 Championship, winning on his debut. In 2002 he led the series points standings before being sidelined after a wing failure on his Jaguar F1 automobile at Monza caused him to miss several races.
He then moved to the Japanese F3 series, winning the title in 2003, and raced within the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Series for Toyota in 2004–05.
In 2006 he returned to Australia to race for the V8 Supercars team and won the title in 2010 for Dick Johnson Racing.
He later raced for Holden Racing Team and Tickford Racing before joining BRT this season. He has just one podium in 2023.
He never won the Bathurst 1000 but finished on the rostrum 4 times within the classic Australian endurance race.
