COURTNEY: ADDERTON IS NOT A “PUNCHING BAG”

James Courtney: Peter Adderton is not a “punching bag”

Enough is enough, it’s time to stop bagging Peter Adderton!

By BRUCE NEWTON

That’s the heartfelt plea from his friend James Courtney, who will step into a Tickford Racing Ford Mustang with sponsorship from outspoken Adderton’s Boost Mobile when Supercars resumes at Sydney Motorsport Park in late June.

The livery of the car was revealed in the latest issue of Auto Action, which is on-sale now.

“I think everyone needs to wind off spraying him a little and actually thank him, or see him for who he is and not just a punching bag,” Courtney told AA.

Adderton has been a friend, adviser and supporter of Courtney’s dating back to the days when he emerged from Karts as a junior world champion and wanted to go car racing.

At the start of 2020, he stepped in to back Courtney at the Webb family’s Team Sydney project.

But that deal only lasted through the Adelaide 500 before driver and sponsor elected to split with the team.

A plan to run a Boost-backed wildcard Holden Commodore ZB out of Erebus Motorsport then got scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the pandemic also then forced 23Red Racing and naming rights sponsor Milwaukee Tool Australia out of the Supercars championship, allowing Courtney and Boost to step in and take over the seat previously occupied by Will Davison.

“A lot of people have sprayed Peter pretty hard over the years he has been involved in the championship and he is quite outspoken,” said Courtney.

“But when you are successful you can be.

“I think his belief in the sport and love for the sport can’t be questioned now.

“When other companies and people are pulling back and away from the sport he is putting his money where his mouth is and coming in.

“So he’s not only helping me with my decisions and the future of Tickford, but also saving … close to 15 jobs there.”

Adderton has generated plenty of controversy through the years. He was a backer of the Australian Super Touring championship in the late 1990s with Alan Gow, Courtney’s long-time manager.

Adderton bullishly predicted the demise of Supercars at the time.

Now based in California, he’s been consistently linked in recent years with Supercars team ownership. However, he’s shied away and been critical of the multi-million dollar budgets involved.

At Bathurst in 2019, while Boost was naming rights sponsor of Garry Rogers Motorsport, he threatened to pull-out of the category if a control front upright was not made mandatory for 2020.

That was rejected by Supercars and Adderton ended his deal with GRM, which did not enter the category in 2020.

When the Tickford tie-up was announced earlier this week, Adderton talked about his commitment to racing.

“These are very uncertain time’s for sports in general and motorsport in particular,” he said. “In a sport traditionally funded by sponsors, it is more important than ever for brands to step up if they are able, not just for the future of the Supercars championship but the teams and the people behind them.

“I have been involved and supporting motorsport in Australia for over 20 years and to this day remain one of its biggest fans.”

Tickford Racing CEO Tim Edwards, a key architect of the deal with Courtney and Boost, said the team was aware of Adderton’s strong views.

“He’s passionate – that’s probably that’s a good way of describing him – and you’ve got to respect what he’s achieved in his life.

“I’m sure I’ll be having some robust conversations with him at some point, but hopefully not too often.

“If we perform maybe he’ll be less confrontational than he was last year.”

For more of the latest Supercars news pick up the current issue of Auto Action. Also make sure you follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.