James Courtney's third successive podium finish at Bathurst five days ago and his consistent speed on street circuits have left him brimming with confidence for the 11th round of the V8 Supercar Championship on the Gold Coast next week.

"I qualified front row in Surfers (Paradise) last year, and I've been on the podium at other street circuits such as Adelaide, Hamilton, plus Bathurst," said the JELD-WEN Ford Falcon driver.

"My car had plenty of speed at Bathurst last weekend, including fastest lap of the race, and there's no reason why I can't carry that momentum onto the streets of the Gold Coast."

The championship round on the 4.4km Surfers Paradise street circuit from October 23-26 comprises three sprint races, and will be part of an event program which also includes the Nikon Indy 300 for American-based IndyCar Series teams and drivers.

"What makes the 'Indy' track a challenge is the car slides around on the bumps, and you have to deal with running over man-hole covers, white lines, drains, and different cambers," said Courtney.

"It's a hard place to pass apart from a couple of places where you can throw the car down the inside on the bumpy braking areas at the end of the front and back straights."

Courtney's championship street circuit results in 2007 included qualifying second and finishing third in Adelaide, second place in the Bathurst 1000, and qualifying second on the Gold Coast.

This year his street circuit performances are highlighted by qualifying second in Adelaide, and finishing third at Hamilton in New Zealand and at Bathurst on October 12, when he established a 10-second lead in his opening stint and clocked the fastest race lap of 2-minutes 9.277-seconds.

The 28-year-old Stone Brothers Racing driver, who lives at Hope Island on the Gold Coast, said a crucial factor in being competitive on street circuits was striking a balance between speed and caution.

"You can't be 'gun shy' and you have to run the car close to the walls for a quick lap," he said.

"At the same time there isn't any room for error, especially on the Gold Coast, because if you make a mistake you're going to hit concrete walls."

Courtney is seventh in the championship, and has finished on the podium for top-three results in four of the previous 10 rounds. He has finished 24 of the 26 championship races this year, recording one win and 10 top-five results.

He said the previous round at Bathurst had left him with mixed feelings, despite finishing on the podium with team-mate David Besnard behind the race-winning Vodafone Falcon of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup and the second-placed Sprint Gas Holden driven by Greg Murphy and Jason Richards.

"We had the speed to run with anyone out there, but some tyre problems mid-race cost us time," said Courtney. "It was a good comeback to eventually get on the podium again, but with a bit of luck it could have been better."

"Regardless, I'm now only 121 points behind Lowndes, who is fourth in the championship, so both SBR and I have plenty of incentive to do well on the Gold Coast."


MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Mike Porter - Tel: (0417) 311-997. E-mail: mikep@qldnet.com.au

WEBSITE: http://www.jamescourtney.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHS: high-resolution jpeg images of James Courtney available for media/editorial use