Courtney to drive for FPR in 2009

It has been revealed that James Courtney will drive for a factory Ford team next year, but it won’t be Stone Brothers Racing.
Australian eNews has reported that Courtney is set to move to drive a Ford Performance Racing Falcon next year, but as yet it is not sure under what conditions.

After winning his first-ever V8 Supercar race in the first race of the City of Ipswich 400 at Queensland Raceway last weekend, Courtney’s team were informed that its driver for the past three years would leave the Yatalabased squad at the completion of the 2008 season.

It is expected that an announcement regarding Courtney’s future will be officially confirmed in October by Ford.

Courtney, who is managed by the BTCC boss Alan Gow, first joined Stone Brother Racing in 2006, where he replaced the two-time V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose.

The 27-year-old scored his second career pole at the Queensland Raceway and celebrated his eighth podium.

Courtney’s expected move south to FPR could be executed in a number of ways, although the most likely option will be for him to drive a third team car, using Jim Morton’s licence and rebranding the entry as the proposed ‘Ford Dealer Team,’ first reported by eNews