Courtney's cheeky response to matching Skaife record
James Courtney is already targeting podiums in 2024 as he continues to rack up big numbers in the Supercars statistic stakes.
Tickford Racing veteran Courtney finished third in Sunday’s first race at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.
The #5 Snowy River Caravans Mustang driver was the beneficiary after Ford rivals Anton De Pasquale and David Reynolds collided.
With the result, Courtney has now finished on the podium in a race in 18 consecutive Supercars seasons.
Courtney has scored a trophy in each season between 2006 and 2023, equalling Mark Skaife’s 18-season streak between 1991 and 2008.
Only Craig Lowndes (22 seasons between 1998 and 2019) is ahead of Courtney and Skaife.
Courtney could have joined Skaife even earlier had he not lost an Albert Park due to a penalty.
With a trophy in tow, Courtney has set his sights on next year and moving past Skaife into all-time second.
“It’s bloody good, it’s been a horrific start to the season for us,” Courtney told the Schick Cool Down Lap podcast.
“The annoying thing is that we’ve been speedy throughout that whole period.
“We obviously had the podium at the Grand Prix, which slid away from us. To get one here is fantastic.
“I’ve now matched Skaifey with all-time podiums in consecutive years — so now it goes Mr Lowndes, then Mr Courtney, then Mr Skaife!
“That’s a pretty cool achievement. I’ve got to get a podium next year so I can be ahead of Skaife, which would be lovely.”
Courtney's input also proved valuable in returning teammate Cam Waters to the pointy end after he suffered a slow start to the Perth weekend.
The podium itself was welcome relief for Courtney, whose campaign was undone by shockers in Newcastle and Melbourne.
Courtney crashed out of the Newcastle Sunday Shootout and missed the race, before suffering a fire at Albert Park.
The next result was two did-not-starts and a lowly 24th in the championship.
The 2010 champion praised his crew for the turnarounds, and was pleased to give them nothing more than a wipe-down on the car.
“It was a relief,” Courtney said of the podium.
“I knew we had the speed, the boys have had a stupid amount of work repairing the whole front of the car after Newcastle.
“Then the fire, the whole front of the car again. It’s been a lot of hours, then before that, building the car.
“It’s nice they have a weekend now where they can just wipe the car over, change the oil, and we go again in Tassie.
“It’s an awesome feeling — it’s been a solid weekend for us as a group.”
The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint on May 19-21.
Tickets for the event are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.
Consecutive ATCC/Supercars Championship seasons with a podium
22: Craig Lowndes (1998-2019)18: James Courtney (2006-2023*)18: Mark Skaife (1991-2008)17: Jamie Whincup (2005-2021)17: Garth Tander (2004-2020)
*Season ongoing
