Courtney clan's scenic tour to Townsville

James Courtney has been making the most of his downtime during Supercars events, swapping the racetrack for the open road.

The 2010 champion has enjoyed a family road trip along Australia’s east coast en route to this weekend’s NTI Townsville 500.

Since April’s Winton SuperSprint, Courtney’s #5 Tickford Mustang has carried backing from Australian caravan group Snowy River Caravans.

The relationship will carry through to the Reid Park event across July 8-10.

The deal included an added perk for the Gold Coast-based driver, with Courtney and his family receiving a Snowy River SRC-22F caravan for their road trip north.

Joined by son Cadel, 12, daughter Zara, 14, and fiancee Tegan Woodford, the family has travelled more than 1100 kilometres over five days.

Beginning on the Tickford driver’s 42nd birthday, the family made their first stop in Bundaberg last Wednesday.

“We are having a ball, it’s been awesome,” Courtney told Supercars.com.

“We left on my birthday and headed to Bundaberg and stayed at Splitters Farm, a refuge for unwanted animals.

“We fed the animals, had campfires and all that jazz, and did a few tours around Bundaberg which was cool.

“Then went on to 1770 for a day and then onto Yeppoon for two nights.

“Now we are in Airlie Beach for two nights and then we're going into Townsville. It’s been a really cool trip.

“Some of the driving hasn't been that exciting for the kids, but it's been good as we are seeing so much of the countryside.

“For a lot of the drive we lost phone service too, so having two teenage kids, it was nice for them not to be on their phones and just looking out the window.”

It has been a big 12 months for the Sydney-born driver who announced his engagement in January.

The couple is also expecting their first child together later this year.

Courtney recorded his 500th race start at Albert Park in April, before recording a second podium for Tickford Racing in Perth last month.

The family road trip comes after the 2000 British Formula Ford champion had a challenging weekend in Darwin, picking up damage in several sessions.

The results saw him drop from 10th to 13th in the points.

Despite being in his 17th full-time season, Courtney was surprised to be recognised at caravan parks along the way.

“There’s huge support for Supercars in these communities,” Courtney said.

“Nearly every place we have pulled up, people have known who we are which I probably wasn’t ready for.

“It’s nice that so many people have stopped by the caravan and are talking about racing, and some people were also on their way up to Townsville, which is pretty cool.”

Speaking about the benefits of the trip during the busy Repco Supercars Championship season, Courtney admitted his family has caught the travel bug.

“I've always loved it, I'm big into outdoor stuff,” he said,

“I suppose, if anything, it has proven how much I like the easy sort of life.

“Being in close quarters with the kids is nice for a change because they're normally off doing their own thing in their rooms or seeing friends.

“The caravan has bunk beds, which they've been sleeping in, we’ve got an ensuite with a shower and toilet and everything so we're not exactly struggling, it's pretty luxurious camping.

“But just getting amongst it and doing random stuff, it's been a nice experience.”

Courtney will make the last leg of the trip to Townsville this week ahead of Supercars’ opening practice session on Friday.

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to Reid Park for the NTI Townsville 500 across July 8-10.

Tickets for the NTI Townsville 500 are on sale through Supercars.com and Ticketek.

The event is being broadcast exclusively live and ad free on Foxtel and streamed live on Kayo. The Seven Network will broadcast free to air coverage on Saturday and Sunday.