Instead of leaving the once mighty Holden Racing Team (HRT), former V8 Supercars champion James Courtney has shown faith in the resurgent outfit by re-signing for another three years.
Off-contract Courtney looked set to jump ship after reportedly being headhunted by V8 rivals including cashed-up Mercedes team Erebus Motorsport and was also linked to a lucrative European move.
Courtney would have been forgiven for considering a change after enduring a lean run since arriving at HRT in 2011.
HRT suffered its worst performance last year when it failed to win a race, prompting a sweeping team restructure ahead of the 2013 season.
Courtney was the first to admit there were times he questioned why he had left his championship-winning Ford team in 2010.
But the 33-year-old said unfinished business and a form revival had ensured HRT were always his No.1 priority during contract negotiations.
“I set some goals when we came to HRT originally and I haven’t achieved those,” Courtney told AAP.
“Until I have done that I am not interested in going anywhere else.
“It would kill me if I left here and they started winning everything. Now I can really knuckle down.”
Courtney admitted there had been some dark times with HRT but he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“There was a period there when I was questioning whether I had made the right move,” he said.
“But I had faith in the boys around us.
“Coming into the team initially I was a bit hesitant. (Teammate) Garth (Tander) was probably someone I did not think I would get along with at all.
“But internally in the team he is a completely different person to what you guys see so we get along really well.
“I think we have developed a good relationship over the past two and a half years.
“Blind Freddy could see it wasn’t a good time but now it is a completely different team to when I first started.”
HRT have been on the podium in three of the past six races and Tander and Courtney completed a quinella in the last round at Townsville.
The north Queensland success ended a 58-race winning drought for HRT and marked the team’s first one-two finish since Sandown 2009.
“The car speed is coming. We are qualifying well, we’ve got some podiums, we got a one-two at Townsville – we are definitely excited,” Courtney said.