COURTNEY LASHES OUT AT WHINCUP

NEWS COVER STORY

JAMES COURTNEY HAS SENT A WARNING TO REIGNING V8 SUPERCAR CHAMP JAMIE WHINCUP WRITES, ALEX INWOOD

JAMES COURTNEY has lashed out at reigning V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup, saying his biggest motivation this year is to "wipe the smile off Jamie's face".

Speaking exclusively to Auto Action, Courtney said beating Whincup is his sole motivator to make up for the disappointment he felt in 2011.

"There's nothing I want more than to wipe the smile off Jamie's face again," he said. "It's the motivation for our whole group. For someone to get up there and say they've got their number one back again, I think it motivates the whole field."

Courtney added that while Whincup might currently be the benchmark, there's no reason to think the three-time champion can't be beaten.

"It can be done," he said. "Triple Eight have always been the guys that are the benchmark and our job is to take that off them. They have two arms and two legs like we have and Whincup is definitely beatable.

"I did it in 2010 with his old equipment [ex-Triple Eight FG Falcon] so they're not unbeatable, that's for sure."

Adding salt to the wound, Courtney added that he thinks superior machinery is the main reason behind Whincup's success. Such thoughts echo sentiments voiced by Greg Murphy late last year.

"I respect him for what he's achieved," he said. "I think he's done a fantastic job, but I also think he's had a far superior machine than the majority of the field over the past few years, and I can't wait to get up there and stand on the top and look down on him."

Courtney's claims might sound optimistic; especially given the fact he recorded the worst title defence in V8 history last season. But the 2010 champ is convinced the Holden Racing Team will be a driving force this year.

"Everyone can see it's all turning around, that we're getting the speed," he said. "That's down to the development we've done, the way Garth [Tander] and I are working together and the fact that the engineering group now has a very good grasp of what I'm wanting and what Garth's wanting from the car to get the speed out of it."

Courtney believes the biggest improvement at HRT this season will be the input of new Walkinshaw CEO Steve Hallam.

"That's the single biggest thing that's going to benefit us," he said. "Not only for us, but I think as a championship to be able to attract someone of his standing is showing where the championship has evolved to. He's an engineer and he's going to put things in place to get the most out of not only myself and Garth, but the whole engineering group as well.

"Also, he has the contacts worldwide to be able to help us develop our car. Just purely the knowledge he has from all his years through Formula One and NASCAR means he has a lot of experience and I think that's going to be a big benefit for us.

"The driving group is very happy that we have a great leader who's about to come on-board. There's no little cancer in there anymore. All the cancer in the team has been cut out and we're all willing to work hard and make the effort to get the team back on top."

JAMES COURTMEY