JAMES Courtney may be in the final season of his Repco Supercars Championship career, but he has sent it back to the beginning of his motorsport journey ahead of this weekend’s round of the Australian Kart Championship at the Ipswich Kart Club.
To be shown during this weekend’s broadcast of the event, Courtney jumped behind the wheel of a modern Tony Kart, complete with retro livery to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his win in the World Junior Karting Championship.
For the occasion, Courtney dusted off his original suit and helmet.
In 1995, he beat home future F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi, who would later cross paths with Courtney when he twice raced as a co-driver to Tony D’Alberto at the Gold Coast 600.
Other notable winners of the title include Alain Prost, Andrea de Cesaris, Bernd Schneider, Jan Magnussen, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, and Charles Leclerc.
Two years later, Courtney became the first and only Australian to win a World Senior title when he swept the Formula A competition.
Subsequently, he secured the British Formula Ford Championship title, before graduating to F3 and securing a seat as a Jaguar F1 test driver.
Ultimately, he made his V8 Supercars debut in 2005 at the endurance races for the Holden Racing Team, before securing a full-time seat the following season at Stone Brothers Racing.
 Courtney went on to win the title in 2010 while driving for Dick Johnson Racing.
This weekend marks the 50th Australian Kart Championship round contested in the modern era, with the talent factory producing drivers such as Oscar Piastri, Jack Doohan, Broc Feeney, Kai Allen and Cooper Murray amongst many.