“I love the place.”
James Courtney hasn’t fallen out of love with Adelaide, despite it beginning eight years since his last win here, (Race 2, 2016). Courtney admitted it did feel special;
“[It was special] straight away when I rolled out,” Courtney said upon reflecting on Thursday’s practice session.
BRT’s season has not been one Courtney had been hoping for, they sit 12th in the series, the last of the teams racing with two cars at every event. However Courtney mentioned the differences in the car today;
“The car was really good, It’s been struggling with the thing being so numb throughout the whole year and not having any fuel in the car.
“Straight on that first run, it had a lot of good fuel and I could load the car and feel the tire, it’s awesome, it feels really good.
“I know it’s only Thursday, but it feels like we’ve won the championship for BRT this season.”
In terms of what to expect from the rest of the weekend in the parklands, Courtney is expecting some evolution on the track, saying that it will continue to change “until the last lap.”
“With street circuits, you’ve definitely got to chase the cars so much,” Courtney began.
“I can say that I was fast. Now we’re just going to have to work closely with those guys to tune it as the track cleans up and rubbers up.
“It’s a great way to start the weekend, such a good confidence booster. Street circuits are all about confidence.
“Starting the weekend like this definitely, not only for us drivers, but also the mechanics, the crews, the engineers, everyone, it’s a nice way to start.”
James Courtney has a podium in every one of his seasons as a full time driver, when asked if he could keep that streak alive this weekend he said;
‘It’s a long way to call out from here. I have a podium every season for 19 seasons, so yes, I would hope this would be that time.
“I knew it was going to be tough, coming to build the team with Tim [Blanchard] and so this program. [I] Probably didn’t realise it was going to be this tough. On the other side, it’s quite rewarding as well.
“With days like today, with how the year’s gone, it’s good to see that in no way are we there yet, but we’re still heading in the right direction.”