The veteran, in the final year of his full-time Supercars career, snapped a tough streak for the BRT squad by scoring the team’s very first main game podium at the Perth Super440.
It was a breakthrough for Courtney as well, the 2010 champion having not tasted champagne since the Perth round in 2023.
With TV pictures having caught his glistening eyes on the cool-down lap, Courtney was quick to admit that the emotional moment brought him to tears.
“I’m not going to lie, I did cry on the in-lap,” he told Fox Sports at Wanneroo Raceway.
“It’s been a tough 18 months for these guys, they’ve put in so much work. To be able to finally repay them with a result has been amazing.
“We had good, genuine speed on Friday. Qualifying has been a struggle for us, but when you’ve got fresh air… and the guys did an amazing job with the strategy.
“To come out there [in third], I was crying. I was like a little kid in the car.”
There was an element of luck and strategy, with a decision to run long in the second stint combining perfectly with a late Safety Car which meant Courtney could stop during the caution.
He still had to pass Ryan Wood on the restart, though, while also keeping an eye on Cam Waters behind him.
“I was pretty excited [about the Safety Car], because I knew we were going to have good tyres,” he explained.
“I was straight away to Chris [Fitzgerald], my engineer, asking [about] the tyre life of everyone around me.
“Cam behind, I was more concerned about because he was only three laps difference on the tyres. He was going to be a bit of a challenge.
“At the restart there was a bit of hustle, I knew I had to get along or Cam was going to be coming through. I pushed pretty hard, managed to get past Woody and then gapped those guys. And then just managed it to the end.”
Courtney was quick to point out that the podium won’t prompt a rethink on plans to step back from full-time racing at the end of this season.
“I might retire this afternoon, after this!” he joked.
“No, I’ve had an amazing run. Days like this do make it hard, and that’s probably why a lot of emotion is coming out.”
As for celebration plans, Courtney said he’ll enjoy being in the paddock as long as possible before catching the red-eye flight back to Queensland.
“I’m not going to be moving from here for a while,” he said. “We’ll get all the boys and girls in and do some photos and really enjoy it.
“Motorsport is full of more bad days than good, so when you have the good ones, you have to make them last.”
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