Courtney's staggering rise in races revealed
Veteran James Courtney has gained 8.4 positions per race
Anton De Pasquale 5.4, Will Brown and Cam Waters 4.0
Qualifying king Broc Feeney has lost 3.2 positions per race
Age will not weary James Courtney, who has so far made the best out of poor qualifying performance so far this season.
Courtney, who will retire from full-time Supercars competition at the end of 2025, has already hit a number of hurdles before lights have even gone out in the races.
Notably, the Snowy River Caravans Ford Mustang was taken out of Sydney qualifying by now ex-teammate Aaron Love, before Courtney didn't qualify at all for the first two Melbourne races after a practice crash.
All told, Courtney has a 22.6 qualifying average, by far the first worst of all drivers to have contested both rounds.
It hasn't slowed the 44-year-old in the races, however, with the 2010 champion gaining an average 8.4 positions per race.
It's by far the best of the field so far; while it is proof Courtney is battling in qualifying, he still has what it takes in races to make gains and score points.
Team 18 recruit Anton De Pasquale has a 12.7 qualifying average, yet has finished seventh four times and eighth twice, leading to a 7.3 race average and average gain of 5.4 positions per race.
Championship heavyweights Will Brown, Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert are just behind, proving that the cream is rising to the top in the races as drivers come to grips with the new Dunlop Soft tyre.
Waters, who won all three Sydney races from pole, turned a lowly 13.0 qualifying average in Melbourne into a 7.0 race average, ensuring he kept pace with new points leader Brown.
On the flip side, Broc Feeney's remarkable 1.7 qualifying average is offset by a 4.7 race average. Feeney started second for all three Sydney races and claimed pole for all four Melbourne races, yet has one win and two podiums to show for it.
The biggest loser has been Richie Stanaway, who looked to have rebounded from a Sydney shocker with three qualifying results inside the top seven in Melbourne. However, he was taken out twice, and unable to convert from fourth for the finale as rain intervened.
Waters trails Brown by just seven points heading to the next round in New Zealand. Tickets for the ITM Taupō Super 440 on April 11-13, on are on sale now.
Gains/losses in races after Round 2
Driver | Qual. av. | Race av. | Gain/loss |
|---|---|---|---|
Courtney^ | 22.6 | 14.2 | +8.4 |
De Pasquale | 12.7 | 7.3 | +5.4 |
Brown | 6.7 | 2.7 | +4.0 |
Waters | 7.9 | 3.8 | +4.0 |
Mostert | 11.9 | 8.5 | +3.4 |
Jones | 19.0 | 15.7 | +3.3 |
Cameron* | 22.5 | 20.3 | +2.2 |
Kostecki | 8.7 | 6.7 | +2.0 |
Crick* | 24.0 | 22.3 | +1.7 |
Love* | 23.3 | 21.7 | +1.7 |
Randle | 12.0 | 10.7 | +1.3 |
Heimgartner | 11.7 | 10.5 | +1.2 |
Evans | 17.6 | 16.5 | +1.1 |
Davison | 14.6 | 14.0 | +0.6 |
Percat | 10.3 | 11.0 | -0.7 |
Payne | 6.6 | 7.5 | -0.9 |
Wood | 11.0 | 13.0 | -2.0 |
Allen | 14.1 | 16.5 | -2.4 |
Fullwood | 14.0 | 16.7 | -2.7 |
Hill | 7.1 | 10.0 | -2.9 |
Feeney | 1.4 | 4.7 | -3.2 |
Golding | 13.0 | 16.3 | -3.3 |
Le Brocq | 11.9 | 15.7 | -3.8 |
Reynolds | 15.4 | 19.3 | -3.9 |
Murray | 13.7 | 18.7 | -5.0 |
Stanaway | 13.3 | 18.8 | -5.5 |
*Driver hasn't contested both rounds
^Courtney was a DNS for Race 4 in Melbourne
