Courtney: Supercars retirement announcement "accidental"
Veteran Supercars driver "let [his] guard down" when talking about upcoming move into real estate
Supercars racer James Courtney has revealed he did not mean to announce his impending retirement from motor racing in the manner that he did.
The 2010 Supercars champion was appearing on a local Gold Coast news bulletin to talk about his upcoming career in real estate when he revealed his intention to step aside from racing at the end of next season.
It looked like a plug for the agency he was joining, in a part of Australia noted for its opportunities in the real estate sector.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, the 44-year-old admitted his comments were “100% accidental”.
“I was talking about real estate and I let my guard down,” said Courtney, a Supercars mainstay since 2006 who has made 572 career starts to date.
“I was not even thinking about motor racing. It was nothing to do with racing.”
James Courtney, Blanchard Racing Team Ford Mustang GT
Photo by: Edge Photographics
The Blanchard Racing Team Ford Mustang driver did not think much about it until the day after the news bulletin was broadcast, when his phone chimed with a text from long-time manager and mentor, Alan Gow.
“The next morning I woke up to a very pleasant message from Gow,” related Courtney.
“It was 'Why did you retire on TV last night, you d***head?' I wrote to him and explained that I did not retire, I just did an interview about the real estate stuff, building up that side for the afterlife.
“He replied, 'Have you even watched the video?' I watched it and thought, 'Oh God!'
“I replied, 'Don't worry, no one will pick it up'. So he went to sleep and the next morning, he sent me about a thousand articles and said, 'It's even in Autosport!'
“It was 100% a mistake. It was always going to be about the planning, but I let it out on a local story about real estate. But if anyone is looking [for real estate], I am your man...”
Courtney has a best result of sixth so far this season, registered at Perth in May, having joined BRT from Tickford Racing.
The most recent of his 15 wins in the category came at Adelaide in 2016 with the Walkinshaw Racing Team.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Supercars champion Kostecki Joins DJR for 2025
Team 18 confirms Winterbottom/de Pasquale 2025 Supercars swap
Supercars Tasmania: Waters wins race two, Randle and Feeney collide
Supercars champion Courtney to retire from series after 2025 campaign
BRT recruits Courtney, Love for expanded 2024 Supercars programme
Why Courtney and Tickford are a dream match
Watkins Glen track changes will require "more precision" from drivers
NASCAR Xfinity's Josh Williams on his career arc and that time cops escorted him to the hauler
McLaughlin trolls Palou with last-gasp ideas to keep title hopes alive
The bottom four: Hopes and desperation for a playoff rebound at Watkins Glen
Motorsport.com writers' most memorable moments of 2022
Why Courtney and Tickford are a dream match
How taming his temper shaped Supercars' slow-burn star
Why replacing Supercars' GOAT with a teenager is worth the risk for T8
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
