Motivated Courtney aiming high with BRT
Podiums and wins James Courtney's goal with BRT
500-plus-race veteran Courtney joined by rookie Aaron Love
Courtney and Love tested BRT Mustangs at Winton last week
James Courtney wants the Blanchard Racing Team to be shooting for podiums — and better — as the young team readies for its first season with two cars.
Courtney and young driver Aaron Love will spearhead BRT into a new era, with the Box Hill squad running two cars for the first time.
Between 2021 and 2023, BRT operated as a one-car squad, and scored a number of fourth-place finishes with Tim Slade (2021-22) and Todd Hazelwood (2023).
Trophies have so far proven elusive, but Courtney — who drove both BRT Fords in testing last week — is hoping the team can hit the ground running.
“I feel like a kid in a candy shop. I haven’t been this excited for a season start for a long time,” he said.
“To have a whole heap of my crew come across with me has made that transition so much nicer.
“We’re here to win, ultimately. That’s why we’re all involved in motorsport. Winning is definitely what I want to be doing.
“Podiums, running towards the front is really what we’re looking for, and to build on that.”
BRT has experience in bursting out of the blocks, with Slade qualifying on the front row in the team’s very first race in 2021, only to crash out chasing a podium.
Courtney — who has podium finishes in each season since his 2006 full-time debut — is armed with pushing the team forward in 2024, as well as mentoring the rapid Love.
Love, 22, was one of the quickest driver in last year’s Dunlop Series, winning at Mount Panorama, where the new season starts next weekend.
Courtney — who last won a race in 2016 — cited BRT's consistency in the driver and sponsor ranks as reason behind his ambitions with the team.
Both drivers and main sponsors — the Blanchard family’s CoolDrive business, and Courtney’s backer Snowy River Caravans — will remain with BRT until at least the end of 2025.
Courtney also has familiarity with team staff, with a number of former Tickford Racing crew members — headlined by engineer Raymond Lau — joining BRT for 2024.
“We’re a young team, we’re only three years in,” Courtney said.
"There was a lot of movement in that three years, but it’s good to get some consistency in the driver group for the next two years.
“The consistency will calm the waters for everyone and we can build on something.
“Hopefully at the end of the two-year run, we’ve got something a lot better than what we started.”
Courtney and Love will kick off BRT's first season as a two-car squad at the Thrifty Bathurst 500 on February 23-25. Tickets are on sale now.
