Fabian Coulthard
- July 28, 1982
- 42
- New Zealand
- Supercars Championship
- 584
- 68
- 153
- 30
- 60
- 11.64%
- 26.20%
Fabian Coulthard is a racing driver from New Zealand who currently competes in the Australian Supercars Championship with DJR Team Penske. Coulthard made a full-time Supercars debut in 2007, scoring twelve wins since then.
His best result in the championship so far was the third place in 2017. In the same year, he also finished third at Bathurst 1000.
Earlier in a career, Coulthard was the Australian Porsche Carrera Cup champion in 2005 and New Zealand Formula Ford champion in 2002.
Fabian Coulthard
Victorious starting of a career in Formula Ford
Fabian Coulthard was born in July 1982 in Burnley, England moved as a kid to New Zealand and he was raised in Auckland. The interesting fact is that Fabian is a relative of ex- F1 driver David Coulthard.
As many of his colleagues, Fabian started racing in amateur kart championships. He started early, at the age of six, and won seven national championship titles until his move to formula racing. He made a debut in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship in 1999, becoming the champion in the season 2001-2002. He raced in the British Formula Renault in 2003, where he was a teammate of the F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
A long-time V8 Supercars servant - Fabian Coulthard
Carrera Cup title is one of the highlights of Fabian's career
When he returned to Australia in 2004, he participated in Australian Porsche Carrera Cup with Greg Murphy Racing, finishing third overall and the best rookie, after scoring two wins and nineteen podiums.
Following year, driving the #3 Porsche 996 GT3 Cup, Fabian Coulthard became Carrera Cup champion. He won 18 times in 27 races. In 2005, Coulthard made a guest appearance in the Porsche Supercup.
Full-time Supercars debut in 2007
While competing in Carrera Cup, Coulthard had an opportunity to experience V8 Supercars Championship, being hired by Tasman Motorsport to serve as endurance co-driver in to Jason Richards in 2004 and to Tony d'Alberto in 2005. He also raced by himself in the #43 Holden at Oran Park in 2004. In 2006, Coulthard raced for PaulMorris Motorsport in three events and served as endurance co-driver to Paul Radisich in Team Kiwi Racing's Holden.
Coulthard's first full season in the V8 Supercars Championship was 2007. He was driving the #39 Holden for Paul Morris Motorsport,losing a place after Bathurst round and skipping the last four rounds. He improved considerably in 2008, when he finished the season in a respectable 13th place in the championship, driving the #111 Ford BF Falcon prepared by Paul Cruickshank Racing. In the following year, he was again behind the wheel of Ford Falcon and finished 16th overall.
Fabian Coulthard in the #111 Ford in 2008
Horrible crash at Bathurst
In 2010, he signed for Walkinshaw Racing team and found himself in a Holden for two seasons. His driving was consistent but he was not able to fight for the championship title.
In 2010, he becomes famous for his horrifying crash at the Bathurst 1000 race, when his left rear tire blew after a contact and he lost control of his Holden at 280 km/h, rolling six times before he stopped. Fortunately, he was not hurt.
Video - Fabian Coulthard's crash at Bathurst 1000
Maiden Supercars victory at Symmons Plains in 2013
However, in 2012, Coulthard switched to Brad Jones Racing team, and he got a chance to drive a newer version of Holden Commodore race car. He slightly started to progress in the championship standings, finishing 11th in 2012 and then sixth in 2013.
He scored his first victory at the Symmons Plains in 2013, adding one more wins at the same track that weekend. Later in the season, Coulthard won one of four races at Circuit of th Americas in Austin, Texas, in the first ever Supercars event in North America.
The consistent performances were repeated in 2014 and 2015, with victories at Winton in 2014 and Adelaide in 2015. He finished eighth in the points in 2014 and seventh in 2015.
Fabian Coulthard has won Supercars race at Austin in 2013
Coulthard moved to DJR Team Penske in 2016
Before the 2016 Supercars season, Coulthard moved to DJR Team Penske. He was driving the #12 Ford Falcon, alongside Scott Pye as his teammate in the #17 Ford. The first season with a new team was tough and Coulthard finished only 12th in the points, scoring no wins.
Scott McLaughlin came as a new teammate in the #17 Ford in 2017. The team's performances improved and they won Teams' championship ahead of Triple Eight Engineering. Both drivers were in the fight for Drivers' title, McLaughlin finished second, Coulthard was third with four wins.
In 2018, the battle between DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight Engineering continues. Coulthard waited until sixth round at Winton for his first and only win of the season. He added two more podiums on his account to finish ninth in the championship points. He was slightly better in 2019, scoring two wins to finish fourth in the points and helping DJR Team Penske to take Teams' championship.
Fabian Coulthard, DJR Team Penske
