Ford Supercars Champ Racer James Courtney To Retire In 2025

James Courtney, Australian Supercars Championship racer and current driver of the No. 7 Ford Mustang GT for Blanchard Racing, announced that he will retire upon conclusion of the 2025 racing season when his contract expires.

Courtney, now 44 years old, is a veteran in the sport with 19 straight seasons under his belt, and he first joined the division with Stone Brothers Racing in 2006 to drive a Ford Falcon race car before moving to Dick Johnson Racing in 2009, where he continued to drive race-prepared Falcon machines.

He won the 2010 championship for Dick Johnson and Ford before migrating to Holden in 2011. He spent nine seasons driving Holden Commodore race cars before swapping back to Ford, joining Tickford Racing in 2020, where he drove a Ford Mustang GT for four seasons before signing on with Blanchard Racing in 2024. So far, Courtney has claimed a podium finish in at least one race during each of his 19 seasons in the Supercars Championship and boasts 15 individual race wins.

As for what’s next for the championship-caliber Supercars racer, Courtney is stepping away from motorsports to pursue a career in real estate.

“Real estate is actually my first real job now because racing has been my whole life up until now,” Courtney said. “I’m coming towards the end of the racing side of my life and I saw [real estate] as a natural progression. I’ve always had a massive interest in real estate, whether it’s buying and selling my own houses.”

He added, “I’ll finish this year and do next year then that’ll be it for me full-time. I’ve had a hugely successful career, had a great time doing it all and I want to end it on my terms.”

The forthcoming race at Sydney Motorsports Park on July 18^th through 21^st, 2024 will mark Courtney’s 252^nd start in the series.