The COVID-19 enforced hiatus to the 2021 Supercars season has been beneficial for Ford star James Courtney, who discovered he had been racing with a broken shoulder.
Courtney had scans on Monday which revealed "multiple breaks" in his shoulder after an incident at a father-son rugby union match on the Gold Coast in June.
"Probably never would've got it if the season kept going but because we had this time off and (partner) Tegan hurt herself, my mate Zane just opened up a new Mermaid Beach radiology with these new flash machines and he said come down have a look and we'll give you a scan and then boom, found it all," Courtney told AAP.
The 41-year-old raced at back-to-back events in Townsville in July with the injury and will spend the next month and a half allowing it to heal before the championship resumes.
"We've got time so just yet cruise around and let it heal itself," the Boost Mobile Racing driver said.
Winton raceway - in regional Victoria - will host Supercars' return on October 2-3 after a revised calendar was issued late last month.
The championship then heads to Phillip Island for a SuperSprint event on October 23-24 before the showpiece Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama from November 4-7.
Despite NSW's ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer was hopeful the later date for the 1000km endurance event will allow fans to attend in some capacity.
"We will meet all COVID-19 safety requirements necessary to ensure this year's great race goes ahead," Seamer said when the revised calendar was released.
"Our aim is to ensure we can bring back as many fans as possible."
