1/6/2010
For Ford driver James Courtney, the month of May has proved to be one of his best.

After starting in sixth place in Race 12 of the V8 Supercar Championship at the Winton Raceway on May 15, Courtney drove his Ford FG Falcon meticulously around the track before settling into second place behind Craig Lowndes. The top two battled it out for 11 laps before Courtney was able to overtake Lowndes to claim victory.

This was Courtney's fourth consecutive V8 Supercar Championship victory in this year's series, following his win at the Winton Raceway the previous day, and wins at Queensland Raceway on May 1 and 2.

Courtney now has a 114-point lead at the top of the Driver Championship board – overtaking Holden front man, Jamie Whincup, who had held the top position since October 2008.

"This is great! I thought Queensland Raceway was as good as it gets, but now we've gone back-to-back again. It just keeps getting better and better, and leading the championship tops everything off," said Courtney.

Courtney's accomplishments have given the Jim Beam Racing team their first championship leader in 14 years.

“It's been a great year for the Ford team with all of the hard work over the past years now starting to show the rewards," said Charlie Schwerkolt, co-owner, Jim Beam Racing. "We will continue to set ourselves goals throughout the year and hopefully we will continue to show our partners and our fans that we have a formula that everyone can be proud of.”

Courtney is confident that he can maintain his leading position to keep the Ford flag flying high.

“It’s fantastic to take this lead and these four race wins into a four-week break now," he said. "We have great car speed at the moment and everyone is working really well. Momentum is a beautiful thing so we'll hopefully keep that rolling, so there's no reason why we can't continue to feature at the front of the Championship."

The next race in the V8 Supercar Championship will take place in Darwin from June 18 to 20.