Tickford Racing has revealed James Courtney will sport a special number to celebrate his 500th race start in the Repco Supercars Championship.

The 2010 champion will also carry new naming rights backing in the form of Flex Power Tools, taking the reins from 4WD accessories outfit Opposite Lock.

Courtney is set to bring up the milestone start in the opening encounter of the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 tomorrow (Friday, April 8).

The landmark moment comes 17 years after his championship debut in 2005 where he contested the Sandown 500 with the Holden Racing Team.

“It’s fantastic to have Flex Power Tools onboard our Mustang,” said Courtney.

“It’s a bit of a bonus because I’ve been doing some work on the house up in Queensland, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few products that caught my eye, so we’ll keep that chat going.

“But I’m really looking forward to this weekend, what with it being the Australian Grand Prix and ticking over 500 races myself, it’s going to be a huge weekend and the Flex Mustang looks great.

“The team’s had some success at Albert Park in recent years and the cars have been pretty speedy, obviously we’ll be looking to keep that trend going and be fighting at the front in our new colours.”

Supercars hits the track today at 11:05 local time/AEST for Practice 1.

Practice 2 will follow at 12:30 local time/AEST before back-to-back qualifiers at 15:00 and 15:20, each lasting 10 minutes.