James Courtney will return to the Supercars scene this week in Round 5 of the All Stars Eseries.
Courtney will race a Boost Mobile-backed Holden ZB Commodore in the three-race event, which takes place at Spa-Francorchamps.
The 39-year-old said he’s “pretty green” to sim racing, his last notable gaming experience coming on a Sega playing Alex Kidd in the mid-1990s.
“I’ve got zero experience,” Courtney told Speedcafe.com.
“All that stuff was only just starting at the end of my time in Europe. The simulation wasn’t really good enough at the time to justify it, so it’s all very new for me.
“I hooked up with the guys at Next Level Racing on the Gold Coast here and they sorted me out with some gear. I didn’t even have a computer to run it.
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“I’m not in any way speedy or predicting that I’m going to win in the Eseries.”
This Eseries debut will also give Courtney a chance to finally run his prefered #44, which dates back to his early career.
“I’ve finally been able to have my racing number that I’ve always wanted to have, which is pretty neat,” he said.
“I was #44 from day one when I started karting all the way when I went to Europe. My dad was #3 and I wanted to be #4, but that was taken at the time when I was karting.
“I doubled down to make #44 and it was quite ironic when I came back initially with Stone Brothers Racing I was #4 and Ross (Stone) wouldn’t change it to #44.
“Then when I went to the Holden Racing Team I was #22, which is half of #44. It’s good to finally be back.
“Perhaps when we go racing once all this coronavirus stuff clears up I can continue to do that.”
Despite the coronavirus-induced break, the 2010 Supercars champion said he’s been keeping busy with a business on the side and kids to homeschool.
As a result, Courtney hasn’t had much time to practice and doesn’t expect to be up the front.
“I’m up against it a little bit; but I enjoy it, having a crack and having a bit of fun with it all,” he said.
“A lot of these guys will be taking it a lot more seriously than what I will be, that’s for sure.”
Dunlop Super2 Series rookies Broc Feeney and Jayden Ojeda will race as will Red Bull Junior driver Jack Doohan.
It will mark the first time Courtney has been part of the Supercars scene since this year’s season-opening Adelaide 500.
Round 5 of the BP Supercars All Stars Eseries takes place on May 6 at 18:00 AEST.
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