Engineer change for Courtney in Tasmania

James Courtney is set to have a new engineer for this weekend’s Tasmania round, after a pre-event change at the Blanchard Racing Team.

Matt Saunders departed the Ford team on the eve of this weekend’s Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440.

Saunders joined BRT on a part-time basis at the beginning of 2024, while also an operations manager at Malibu Boats Australia. He first engineered Courtney in Townsville after Raymond Lau departed the team.

Saunders previously served at Matt Stone Racing and Team 18, and led Jack Le Brocq to victory at the 2023 Darwin Triple Crown.

He also spent time at Triple Eight Race Engineering, leading Declan Fraser to the 2022 Super2 title.

Saunders returned with BRT in 2025 as Engineering Manager, while continuing as Courtney’s engineer.

BRT recruited technical director Mike Henry and engineer Daniel Veronese in the off-season, with Dennis Huijser recently arriving from Team 18 as crew chief.

However, it has been a tough season on- and off-track for BRT so far, with Aaron Cameron replacing Aaron Love following the first round in Sydney.

The Box Hill operation struggled for pace in New Zealand, with Courtney labelling it the “worst” event of his career.

Courtney sits 18th in points, and is set to be engineered in Tasmania by Chris Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald, who engineered Love last season, transitioned to the Performance & Strategy Engineer role with BRT this season.

Track action in Tasmania commences Friday. Tickets on sale now.