Supercars champ announces shock departure from Sydney Holden team

After a trouble-filled opening weekend with new Supercars outfit Team Sydney — formerly Tekno Autosports — Supercars veteran James Courtney has announced his immediate departure from the team with the issuing of the below statement;

Supercars driver James Courtney has elected to depart Team Sydney, effective immediately.

“We have not been able to agree on the way forward, so I have decided to depart the team. I wish Team Sydney all the best for the future,” Courtney said.

Courtney has no alternative arrangements in place and cannot comment on his future at this time.

Having announced that he would be switching to the squad for 2020 on the week of last year's Bathurst 1000, the road to the grid proved a challenging one for Courtney and the new team.

Following an apparent falling out over the management of the team, there was talk that Team Sydney wouldn't make it to the grid. There were then long delays in its confirmation of second driver Chris Pither, as well as its two primary sponsors Boost Mobile and Coca-Cola. 

The team then endured a tough opening round at the Adelaide 500 last weekend. Courtney showed impressive race pace during both races, but retired in the opener and had a penalty for passing under yellow spoil a probable top 10 on Sunday. 

It's now expected that the team will need to secure a replacement driver and sponsor for its second car, with significant fines to be expected for any rounds its second entry misses. The next round of the series is the Australian Grand Prix event at Albert Park, Melbourne in two weeks time.

For Courtney, meanwhile, a co-driver role for the 2020 Pirtek Enduro Cup should be on the cards. The line-ups at Walkinshaw Andretti United, the Red Bull Holden Racing Team, DJR Team Penske, and Erebus Motorsport have been filled, but spots are still to be confirmed at Tickford Racing, Brad Jones Racing, and Kelly Racing.