Coulthard negotiates for best deal
In the most consistent front-running form of his V8 Supercars career and running second in the drivers' championship after yesterday's opening 200km race at the Castrol EDGE Townsville 400, Fabian Coulthard is also the lynchpin of the driver market for 2016.
The 32-year old has had an offer on the table from Brad Jones Racing since last December to extend his contract that is scheduled to wind up at the end of this season.
But the Freightliner Racing Holden Commodore VF driver says he is negotiating for the best possible deal before he commits his future to the Albury team, which has emerged in 2015 as a genuinely consistent force.
"I feel I am doing a reasonable job and I need to get a certain amount for the job I am doing relative to the rest of the field," he told v8supercars.com.au after finishing a closing third at Reid Park. "You don't want to be that guy that's the underpaid guy that's doing the same amount of work and the same amount of effort as the dudes who are behind you.
"That's got my interest at the moment. You want the best possible deal you can get and in the position I am in I am going to aim to try and do that."
Coulthard admitted he is conscious that with so many of his fellow drivers out of contract at the end of this season his decision on his future will play a key role in where some of them end up.
"I know whatever happens or whatever I do it will have big ramifications around the place," he said.
"But I just go about my thing, do my driving, and then hopefully my contract sorts itself out."
Other drivers looking for new deals where they are or at new racing homes include:
* Yesterday's second-place finisher David Reynolds, whose deal to race the Prodrive Racing Australia-fettled The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X for Rod Nash Racing expires at the end of this season.
* Tim Slade, who drives the Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore for Walkinshaw Racing.
* Nissan Motorsport's James Moffat.
Apart from the seats they currently occupy, possible drives these four are potentially vying for include Tekno Autosports - which Shane van Gisbergen departs next year to race for Triple Eight Race Engineering - and DJR Team Penske, which may expand to two cars and where Marcos Ambrose's future remains unclear.
Coulthard said the length of time he and BJR co-owner Brad Jones had been negotiating did not mean the chances of him staying in Albury were lessening.
"There are things I want within my contract and it's just the toing and froing at that basically," he explained. "I don't believe that (the lengthening timeframe) is a factor at all."
And while pitlane is rife with rumours of multiple queries about his availability for next year, Coulthard played that down.
"I am contracted and I can't really do a hell of a lot of talking. So I just do my thing and make the car go the best I can with my engineer Phil (Keed)."
English born, New Zealand raised and Melbourne domiciled, Coulthard made his V8 Supercars debut in 2004 with Tasman Motorsport and has had stints at Paul Morris Motorsports, Paul Cruickshank Racing and Walkinshaw Racing. He joined BJR in 2012 and has since finished 11th, sixth and eighth in the championship and scored five wins.
A matter-of-fact character, Coulthard says he is pleased with his 2015 but is clearly not getting carried away.
"I have been trying to do it all my career, it has just finally come into play and I have a car I can deliver the goods with. I just go about my business day in day out, do the best possible job I can and this is the outcome.
"It's fun, racing is fun. I think I have been on the podium every round this year apart from Tassie so that is a pretty cool stat."
He also played down the significance of running second in the Championship with 20 races still to run including the three two-driver Pirtek Enduro Cup events and thousands of points still up for grabs.
"Don't get me wrong, second at this point in the Championship is great but I will look at it after the enduros. My track record in the enduros is pretty tough, we have struggled to get the results," the Mount Panorama qualifying lap record holder said. "We have been fast but we just haven't had the luck.
"Hopefully this year that will change and we will get some luck because there are a lot of points on offer at those three events. We will look at it after that."
