MONDAY, JULY 20: James Courtney, fresh from a race win eight days ago, will celebrate his 50th start in the V8 Supercar Championship when the series resumes at Sandown in Melbourne from July 31-August 2.

Ironically, the Jim Beam Racing Falcon driver also made his championship debut on the same 3.1km circuit, partnering legend Jim Richards in the 2005 Sandown 500 to 11th place in a Holden Racing Team Commodore.

"So much has happened since then - moving back to Australia to live, some highs and lows on the track, becoming a father for the first time, and changing teams this year," he said.

The 29-year-old Gold Coast-based driver is confident for the seventh event of this year's championship at Sandown, after winning the second race of the inaugural Townsville 400 on July 12.

"I'm up for another win so it's all systems go!" he said. "Winning in Townsville proved our team can beat anyone when the driver is on his game, and the car set-up, strategy and pit-stops are good."

Courtney said he was further encouraged for Sandown after securing a podium result in his previous visit to the track when he was third in a sprint round during the 2008 championship.

"Sandown is a track with a couple of long straights and hard braking points," he said. "I've been on the podium there before, so I expect to be competitive."

Courtney's previous 49 round/event championship starts were:

2005: 2 (Holden Racing Team - Sandown and Bathurst endurance races)
2006: 13 (Stone Brothers Racing Falcon - full season)
2007: 14 (Stone Brothers Racing Falcon - full season)
2008: 14 (Stone Brothers Racing Falcon - full season)
2009: 6 (Jim Beam Racing Falcon)

V8 SUPERCAR - FAST FACTS

ROUND/EVENT STARTS: 49 (since 2005)
BEST SEASON: 6th (2008)
POLE POSITIONS: 2 (Adelaide 2007, Queensland Raceway 2008)
RACE WINS: 2 (Queensland Raceway 2008, Townsville 2009)
PODIUMS: 11 (9 round podiums 2005-2008; 2 race podiums 2009)
BATHURST PODIUMS: 3 (2nd 2007; 3rd 2006 & 2008)

When Courtney made his championship debut in 2005 he was nearing the end of a successful decade racing overseas, which produced two karting world championships, British Formula Ford and Japanese Formula 3 titles, and a stint as a Formula One test driver for Jaguar.

"My wife Carys and I were tired of living out of a suitcase, so we came back to Australia for a more settled lifestyle," said Courtney, who became a first-time parent with the birth of daughter Zara in January, 2008.

Reflecting on his V8 Supercar career, Courtney said the highlights had been his two race wins, and three successive podium finishes in the Bathurst 1000.

"It's not easy to win in V8 Supercars - only five drivers have done it this year," said Courtney. "Many of this year's field haven't won a championship race since I came into it fulltime."

However, the JELD-WEN sponsored driver admits he is keen to improve his V8 Supercar race results, especially after qualifying in the top 10 almost 70-percent of the time since the start of the 2006 series.

"Generally I've had good car speed, and I want to convert my pace into more race wins," he said.

"In the past there have been races where I've made mistakes, and in other instances I've been caught up in accidents caused by others, or there have been issues with my car."

"I came back to Australia to wins races and championships and nothing has changed."

Courtney believes his off-season move to Jim Beam Racing, where he reunited with his ex-British Formula 3 engineer Adrian Burgess, will enable him to achieve his goals.

"I had a tough start to the year, but I think Townsville will be a turning point," said Courtney.

"There was nothing lucky about our win. All the fast guys were on their game and we beat them 'fair and square'. It wasn't like someone didn't finish, or we got lucky with tyre strategy."

Courtney said he was encouraged by the growth of the V8 Supercar category since his debut, and the emergence this year of new street races in Townsville and at Homebush in Sydney in December.

"We had a crowd over 160,000 at Townsville, which shows people will support a good event even in difficult economic times," said Courtney.

"It's an interesting championship for the drivers with a variety of permanent tracks and street circuits, plus a couple of overseas races (New Zealand and Bahrain)."

When Courtney was overseas he raced against several current Formula One drivers in either karting, Formula Ford, or Formula 3. These included Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Fernando Alonso (Renault), Jenson Button (Brawn), and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren).

However, Courtney said he had no regrets about returning to Australia, even after Mark Webber's long-awaited debut Formula One victory in the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring on July 12.

"I was pleased for Mark (Webber) because when I was younger I used to see him often and I know how hard he has worked," said Courtney.

"At the same time I'm happy at home with my young family, and watching Zara grow. I'm lucky to be able to make a living as a professional driver in Australia."

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

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

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