James Courtney at Sandown
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9:25 AM Fri 24 February, 2012
Source: BigPond Sport
Deposed V8 Supercar champion James Courtney believes his Holden Racing Team has made the gains necessary behind-the-scenes to make a serious challenge for the championship this year.
The JELD-WEN sponsored driver respects TeamVodafone, who finished one-two in the 2011 championship with Jamie Whincup and team-mate Craig Lowndes, but does not rate them unbeatable.
"I beat them for the championship two years ago, so they are beatable," said Courtney.
"The key is keeping them under pressure. They make mistakes just like anyone else, as we saw a couple of times in my championship season."
Courtney finished 10th in the 2011 series but has renewed determination to make a success of his second successive year with HRT.
"Results-wise last season (2011) didn't work out as planned, apart from a race win in Abu Dhabi, but we made a lot of gains behind-the-scenes which will help this year," said the 31-year-old.
Courtney is yet to win a race in Adelaide, but has finished second on three occasions since his debut on the 3.22km street circuit in 2006.
"For the drivers the first race of the season is like going back to school after holidays.
"I always laugh when I hear drivers say they're going to work their way into it, because once the lights go green everything goes crazy and there are 28 cars battling like it's a war-zone.
"But that's why I love racing in this championship - it's never easy and if you win you know you've achieved something."
For more go to jamescourtney.com.au hrt.com.au twitter.com/jcourtney01
