IN a season which so far has brought James Courtney more frustration than any other campaign, the Holden driver now has renewed hope.
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It comes in the form of the Supercars’ season of endurance.
The Mobil 1 HSV Racing driver began 2017 well with a third and fourth at Clipsal, but in the races that followed found himself further back in the field.
He dropped to 20th in the championship.
“We came out strong at the start of the year when they tyre was an unknown and with the rules changes they roll out over the break and all that sort of stuff,” Courtney said.
“We got sort of got our brains around them and were quite speedy at Clipsal, but then as the other teams developed and bettered their cars and got more pace, we didn’t.
“So that’s probably the reasoning.”
However, things got better at the Sandown 500, the first of three endurance rounds. Courtney and co-driver Jack Perkins placed 10th.
The car showed good race speed and Courtney feels team tactics can help him do well at Bathurst.
“The good thing about the enduro phase of the season is that it doesn't rely on outright car speed as much, so we can afford to have not such a well performing car and still be in with a shot,” he said.
“We can pull different things out strategically and also consistency plays a role over those longer races rather than outright speed. So the more factors that come into it, the better chances for us now in these races.”