James Courtney inks Team 18 deal

James Courtney will race in the enduro rounds of the 2026 Supercars season after inking a deal with Team 18.

The 2010 champion will stand down from a full-time role at the end of the campaign as he once again joins forces with Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt and team principal Adrian Burgess.

The trip previously worked together when Courtney won his title with Dick Johnson Racing.

Courtney is the second experienced figure to sign a co-driver team with Team 18 after Lee Holdworth signed up to return in 2026 although it has yet to be confirmed who will partner who in the enduro events next year.

“I’m pretty excited to be working with Adrian again,” Courtney said.” I’ve had a huge amount of success with him, we first met and worked together in the 2000s in Europe, so to be back working with him is really special. We’ve been together on and off at HRT, at DJR, and back in Europe. Not only do I respect him for all his achievements, but he’s also a good mate.

“I’m super excited to be working with him, and then also with Charlie, given our history together winning the championship. Charlie’s been a boss before, but also a really good mate for a long time.

“What they’ve done with the growth at Team 18 is fantastic, and now being the homologation team for General Motors is also very inviting for me. I started my Supercars career as an endurance driver for the GM factory team, so it’s quite fitting that I’ll finish my career doing the same.

“To be honest, as soon as I announced I wasn’t going to be driving full-time anymore, Charlie called me straight away. That eagerness showed that he really wanted it, and that the team wanted me to be part of it all. It was a pretty cool feeling to still be wanted after twenty-odd years. It’s been really nice.”