Motorsport: 'No worries' for V8 leader Courtney

James Courtney heads to Sydney in the V8 Supercars top spot. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - Off-track distractions, wet weather and an unforgiving street circuit.

That's the scenario for V8 Supercar championship contender James Courtney going into this weekend's season ending event on the street's of Sydney's Olympic Park precinct.

But if the 30-year-old Ford star is fazed, he's hardly showing it.

As doubts continue over his own future and that of his Jim Beam Racing team beyond 2010, Courtney says he's solely focused on the job at hand - holding off the title challenges of two-time defending champion Jamie Whincup and Ford star Mark Winterbottom.

And after claiming his fifth race win of the season at Sandown last month, Courtney believes its Whincup and his Triple Eight Racing team that is going into Sydney concerned.

"We've done the work all year and it's up to them to chase us down," Courtney said.

"The guys have been outperforming Triple Eight in the pits the past few rounds and we won the last one so we're pretty confident going into it.

"I think psychologically it (the win) was a big one.

"It obviously upset Roland (Dane, Whincup's team manager) and Triple Eight a little bit with how he's been going on in the paper and stuff.

"It's pretty funny to see the reaction."

Whincup admits his team must lift their game after costly pitlane incidents in the past two race meetings.

He feels it will take a flawless effort to overhaul Courtney's 53-point lead and claim a hat-trick of titles.

"We all know as a whole team we need to put in one of our best performances this weekend to give ourselves any chance," Whincup told AAP.

"We're disappointed with the way the year's unravelled, we don't want to be in this position where we're 50 points down heading into the last round but as I say they are the cards we've been dealt and we'll deal with that.

"It's going to be a tough ask but we'll see how we go."

One possible major factor in the weekend's action will be Sydney's inclement weather with showers forecast throughout.

Considering only 16 cars made it home safely in dry conditions in last year's final race at Homebush, Courtney expects surprises galore this weekend.

"Look with the way the season's gone, with all the twists and turns, I'm sure there's a couple more to play out before the end of the year," he said.

"It's an action packed weekend, there's plenty going on off the track as well as on the track, so it's going to be a massive event."

One driver praying for carnage is Winterbottom, who stands 203 points behind Courtney and knows it will take a minor miracle for him to claim the title.

He admits it would take a remarkable set of circumstances but feels funnier things have happened in motorsport before.

"I think I'm too many points off, if it was 100 points I'd definitely think we could have a good shot but 203 is a lot," he said.

"You need him (Courtney) not to finish, which could happen around here, you never know, but then I need Jamie also not to finish.

"It's a funny sport that we do and Saturday night will tell the story I'm sure."

The Sydney 500 gets underway on Friday with four 30-minute practice sessions, with a 250km race each on Saturday and Sunday.

- AAP