James Courtney says he’ll do whatever it takes to beat Holden rivals Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes and end their stranglehold on the V8 Supercars title.

The Holden Racing Team (HRT) driver won the championship in 2010, but Triple Eight/Red Bull Racing’s Whincup has taken every other crown since 2008.

“Triple Eight have had way too long a run at wrapping up the championship so it’s time we take them down,” he said ahead of this weekend’s round in Darwin.

Courtney rates Lowndes as his biggest threat, with the evergreen veteran sitting second on the driver’s standings behind Ford’s Mark Winterbottom.

Fabian Coulthard of Holden is third, ahead of Whincup and Courtney.

“Craig Lowndes has been really quick throughout the whole year and probably has done a little bit better job than his teammate (Whincup) so I think Craig is still the one that we’ll be chasing,” he said.

The 34-year-old has made his desperation for a second crown clear this season, having been involved in a number of heated incidents – including a clash with Will Davison in Tasmania and contact with HRT teammate Garth Tander last round in Winton.

His aggression has riled some, but he’s got no intention of softening his approach.

“Look, I’ve probably been involved in a few more things than normal,” Courtney said.

“I’m not here to make friends; in the end I’m here to win and deliver and I’m not worried about who I upset along the way.

“I want to win, I do whatever it takes to win and sometimes you have to be a little bit more aggressive.

“But it has to be calculated and sometimes you make mistakes like I did at Winton when I took Garth out and that obviously wasn’t the right thing to do.

“But it hasn’t affected the way I do things – I’ll still attack my racing as aggressively as what I normally do.”