Retire or race on? Why Courtney couldn't go 'cold turkey'
James Courtney couldn't go "cold turkey" after full-time retirement
2010 Supercars champion confirmed at Team 18 for 2026 and beyond
Courtney to retire from full-time Supercars at the end of 2025 season
After months of speculation, Supercars veteran James Courtney will indeed transition into co-driving after 20 years in the full-time game.
Confirmed Sunday, the 2010 Supercars champion will join Team 18 on a co-drive deal.
Courtney announced his full-time retirement midway through the 2024 season, setting the star driver on a 18-month long retirement tour with the Blanchard Racing Team.
Since his full-time retirement announcement, the 15-time Supercars race winner has given little away over his future beyond full-time racing, stopping short of announcing his intention to shift to co-driving.
Courtney, 45, already has a successful real estate career underway. A desire to move into broadcast was also there, leaving questions over his future behind the wheel.
In September, BRT boss Tim Blanchard admitted he tried to coax Courtney out of his retirement decision to go around again. Only recently did Courtney bat away speculation, doing it in typical playful style.
However, in recent weeks, rumours of a deal with Team 18 — and a reunion with Charlie Schwerkolt and Adrian Burgess — gained momentum.
In Sunday’s release, Courtney revealed that his farewell celebrations before the Sunday Gold Coast race — which led to tears pre-race — proved his heart was still in the sport.
“Nothing really felt different until probably the Gold Coast when we did that Sunday presentation before the race. That’s when it struck home that this is all coming to an end,” Courtney said.
"The last couple of rounds will probably get more emotional. It’s been twenty years doing this full-time, from 2006 to 2025, a long period of time. I should have quite a bit of long-service leave.”
Ultimately, having started over 600 races, Courtney wasn’t ready to give it away after 20 full seasons.
"To change direction after that is a big shift,” he continued.
"I talked a big game initially, saying I’d just mic-drop it and disappear, but realistically, there’s no way I could do that. I love what I do too much.
"To have done something your whole life and then stop cold turkey, it probably would’ve killed me.”
Team 18 also retained Lee Holdsworth, with rookie Harri Jones not returning in 2026.
