Racing in Darwin last weekend was hot and physically tough for all
drivers, as we knew it would be.

My race results in the fifth event of the V8 Supercar Championship
weren't as good as I'd hoped for, but thanks to my fitness I didn't have
any problems coping with temperatures close to 60-degrees inside the Jim
Beam Racing Falcon.

This year my fitness program has included cycling between 400km to 450km
most weeks around the Gold Coast.

My cycling has been a mixture of 120km rides on a flat roadways, and
also some hill climbing.

This is a good way to build the strength, stamina, and endurance you
need to be able to concentrate and maintain consistent laps for 100km
and 200km races in hot weather at Hidden Valley.

It was great to see Michael Caruso win the second race at Hidden Valley,
which was his first victory in the category.

Michael has been doing a good job since he came into fulltime V8
Supercar racing with Gary Rogers Motorsport, and a fresh face at the top
of the podium is positive for the sport.

We raced karts against each other many years ago when I was growing up
in Sydney, and Michael has worked hard for his success.

Unfortunately I didn't get as much practice track time as I had hoped
for at Hidden Valley last Friday.

I spent much of the first practice 'bedding' in brakes, but then my car
developed engine issues in the second session. I was unable to drive in
the third practice because the engine was replaced.

Missing a practice on Friday made qualifying on Saturday a challenge,
and I finished 13th. It was the first time I had been outside the top 10
in a qualifying session this year.

I started the first race on over 100km on Saturday on my allocated set
of Dunlop 'sprint' tyres, as did many of the cars in front of me.

We drove a long first stint and delayed our pit stop to lap 21 before
switching to the 'control' tyres. The strategy was aimed to improve my
track position as much as possible.

By lap 30 I had improved to eighth and that's where I finished, just
behind Craig Lowndes in a Falcon and the Commodore of Jason Richards.

I qualified eighth for the second race and felt confident because I knew
I could be competitive.

My start was quite good, but then another car hit the rear of my FG
Falcon before the hairpin on the first lap. I went off the track and
dropped back to the rear of the field.

This contact ended any hope of a podium finish, and I spent the
remainder of the race clawing my way back. By lap 60 I was up to 19th,
and in the final nine laps I improved seven positions to finish 12th.

Overall, it was a reasonable recovery. My comeback was also helped by a
Safety Car near the end of the race which bunched up the field.

Soon after the re-start I had contact with the Holden Racing Team
Commodore of Will Davison, who had dropped back several places on the
previous lap.

Will got 'out of shape' in front of me, and when he went wide I
attempted to pass him. The contact happened when we were side-by-side.
Then Will turned in and went off the track.

The officials viewed the incident from various camera angles after the
race and there were no charges or penalties. Regardless of what anyone
says it was clearly deemed a 'racing incident'.

Hopefully my luck will take a turn for the better in the next event on
the new street circuit in Townsville (July 10-12).

St Kilda, who are sponsored by JELD-WEN, also my personal sponsor, are
still leading the AFL premiership with an unbeaten record so I'm hoping
some of their success rubs off on me when we race in North Queensland
next month.

Keep smiling.

JC

HIDDEN VALLEY RESULTS - JAMES COURTNEY
EVENT 5, V8 Supercar Championship, (June 19-21)

Qualifying - Race 1:13th
Race 1 Result: 8th
Qualifying - Race 2: 8th
Race 2 Result: 12th

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after event 5): Jamie Whincup (Ford) 1,272; Will
Davison (Holden) 1,128; Garth Tander (Holden) 954; Craig Lowndes (Ford)
906; Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 897; Steven Johnson (Ford) 873; Rick Kelly
(Holden) 807; Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 765; Shane Van Gisbergen (Ford)
729; Russell Ingall (Holden) 728. Other: James Courtney (Ford) 548.