Supercars racer James Courtney has revealed he did not mean to announce his impending retirement from motor racing in the manner that he did.
The 2010 Supercars champion was appearing on a local Gold Coast news bulletin to talk about his upcoming career in real estate when he revealed his intention to step aside from racing at the end of next season.
It looked like a plug for the agency he was joining, in a part of Australia noted for its opportunities in the real estate sector.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, the 44-year-old admitted his comments were “100% accidental”.
“I was talking about real estate and I let my guard down,” said Courtney, a Supercars mainstay since 2006 who has made 572 career starts to date.
“I was not even thinking about motor racing. It was nothing to do with racing.”
The Blanchard Racing Team Ford Mustang driver did not think much about it until the day after the news bulletin was broadcast, when his phone chimed with a text from long-time manager and mentor, Alan Gow.
“The next morning I woke up to a very pleasant message from Gow,” related Courtney.
“It was 'Why did you retire on TV last night, you d***head?' I wrote to him and explained that I did not retire, I just did an interview about the real estate stuff, building up that side for the afterlife.
“He replied, 'Have you even watched the video?' I watched it and thought, 'Oh God!'
“I replied, 'Don't worry, no one will pick it up'. So he went to sleep and the next morning, he sent me about a thousand articles and said, 'It's even in Autosport!'
“It was 100% a mistake. It was always going to be about the planning, but I let it out on a local story about real estate. But if anyone is looking [for real estate], I am your man...”
Courtney has a best result of sixth so far this season, registered at Perth in May, having joined BRT from Tickford Racing.
The most recent of his 15 wins in the category came at Adelaide in 2016 with the Walkinshaw Racing Team.
