It's taken me four years, but I've finally won a surfboard!

I was presented with the surfboard on the podium at Surfers Paradise
yesterday (October 24) after finishing third overall in the final V8
Supercar Championship race at the SuperGP event.

Every year the top three drivers in the championship races on the Gold
Coast win surfboards as a trophy.

This is a unique tradition and a perfect fit for a region known for
fantastic beaches and a strong surfing culture.

The reason I hadn't won a surfboard before was that yesterday's race was
my first podium finish on the Surfers Paradise street circuit since I
came into the championship fulltime in 2006. My previous best result had
been a fourth in 2007.

So it was pleasing to be on the podium yesterday, not just to win the
surfboard, but also because I live on the Gold Coast. This event is my
'home' race, and my wife Carys and daughter Zara went to the track,
along with many 'locals' I know.

Although I won a surfboard, don't expect to see me riding big waves at
nearby Snapper Rocks or Burleigh Heads any time soon.

I'm a hopeless surfer, so the 'board' is better off being on display in
the trophy area at the Jim Beam Racing headquarters.

We had an expanded racing program on the Surfers Paradise street circuit
(4.4km) this year, after the cancellation of the A1 Grand Prix
open-wheeler events.

Originally we were scheduled for two 200km races, one each on Saturday
and Sunday. Instead, we had two 150km races on Saturday, and the same
format on Sunday.

This extended the racing in the 11th championship event by 200km, which
helped fill gaps in the program created by the absence of the A1GP cars
and teams.

Friday practice went well for me, and I was first and second in the two
sessions. Later that day I finished fourth in qualifying.

However, Saturday didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Firstly I crashed
in the Top 10 Shoot Out. I locked the rear wheels and made contact with
the wall at Turn Two.

Fortunately my FG Falcon wasn't badly damaged, apart from some panels,
but it meant I had to start the first race ninth on the grid and that is
not ideal at a track where passing other cars is difficult.

Track conditions changed on Saturday, and in both races my car did not
feel as comfortable to drive compared to the previous day.

I failed to finish the first race after contact with Jack Perkins'
Commodore, and I went off the track.

In the second race I had to start from the rear of the grid and finished
16th - unfortunately there were no Safety Car periods to bunch the cars
up.

On Sunday our team made some changes to the car and it was much more
competitive. I finished fifth in the first race, and third in the second
race.

In the final race I followed Mark Winterbottom (Ford Performance Racing)
and Garth Tander (Holden Racing Team) for a lengthy period and that's
the way we finished.

When you race with the fast guys at the front on a street circuit it's
always hard to pass them. You are relying on them to make a mistake, but
neither Mark nor Garth made any.

The overall podium positions both days were determined by combining the
points earned by drivers in each race.

I scored 121 points from the two races on Sunday, which gave me the
final podium position.

After 11 championship events I'm now ninth in the points. Hopefully I
can improve in the remaining three events at Phillip Island in Victoria,
Barbagallo Raceway in West Australia, and the inaugural Sydney street
race.

I've now had five podiums this year - a win in Townsville, second places
at Hamilton in New Zealand, Sandown in Melbourne, and at Queensland
Raceway, plus the third at Surfers Paradise. These results are important
for our team's sponsors and supporters, and my personal sponsor
JELD-WEN.

Before the racing on the Gold Coast I had a busy schedule over four days
with appearances for sponsors, and media commitments.

These included attending an autograph session in Brisbane, the official
SuperGP official breakfast at Sheraton Mirage, beach volleyball with the
Miss SuperGP entrants, a Queensland Government official welcome at
Conrad Jupiters, and a V8 Supercars lunch at the Gold Coast Convention
Centre.

The beach volleyball was good fun, with perfect weather. Other drivers
who took part were Garth Tander, Will Davison, Lee Holdsworth, Michael
Caruso, Paul Dumbrell, David Reynolds, and Tony D'Alberto.

In recent days there has been a lot written and said about what impact
the late cancellation of the A1GP races had on the Gold Coast event.

There was considerable pre-event uncertainty, so I think V8 Supercars
did a good job helping to attract a crowd of more than 200,000. The
figure was down on previous years, but the global economic problems were
part of the reason.

Keep smiling.

JC

SURFERS PARADISE RESULTS - JAMES COURTNEY
EVENT 11, V8 Supercar Championship, (October-23-25)

Qualifying - Race 1: 4th
Top 10 Shoot Out - Race 1: 9th
Race 1 Result: 26th
Qualifying - Race 2: 13th
Race 2 Result: 3rd

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after event 11): Jamie Whincup (Ford) 2,605; Will
Davison (Holden) 2,573; Garth Tander (Holden) 2,316; Craig Lowndes
(Ford) 2,175; Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 1,862; Steven Johnson (Ford)
1,838; Rick Kelly (Holden) 1,658; Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 1,655; James
Courtney (Ford) 1,586; Russell Ingall (Holden) 1,586.