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  The transplanted New Zealander is confident he will turn his career around

Fabian Coulthard is back in action.

The man who went upside-down at Bathurst at 280km/h has landed on his feet for the 2012 V8 Supercars season.

Coulthard was lucky to escape unharmed as his Commodore barrel rolled at The Chase in 2010 and has survived another near-miss with Walkinshaw Racing.

This time he has parachuted into the fast-improving Brad Jones Racing, which has picked up a $1million-plus deal with Lockwood for the new season, after he was left standing when the music stopped at the Holden factory operation.

Coulthard lost his spot when Russell Ingall arrived with Super Cheap Auto cash for 2012 and his own backer, Bundaberg Rum, stepped down.

"There were four drivers for three cars. Someone was going to be left with nothing," Coulthard revealed to News Limited yesterday.

"Credit though to Walkinshaw Racing and Ryan Walkinshaw, as they've put this in place for me. They've honoured everything they said they would do. I'm basically on loan for a year.

"I've got no hard feelings. At the end of the day motorsport is a business and you have to run it like a business." Coulthard joins a BJR operation that continues with three cars, with Jason Bright on point and David Wall joining as a rookie.

The transplanted New Zealander is confident he will turn his career around and deliver on the promise he showed with Paul Cruickshank's under-funded effort before winning a spot with Walkinshaw Racing.

"I've had a tough couple of years. I was looking to become one of the top five. It wasn't just me that didn't perform, we all struggled.

"My goals and aspirations haven't changed. I go into every race wanting to win. The fact I haven't done it makes the will and the hunger even more desirable."

Coulthard said his next step comes at the official V8 Supercars pre-season test at Sandown on February 11, when he will drive his Lockwood Commodore for the first time.

"I want to pick its brains and get familiar with it. I don't want to throw my input into BJR until I've driven the car. Until the test day there is no point. I'm pretty keen to just do that phase and see what the car's stregnths are, then go from there."

Coulthard is now 30 and past the 'young gun' stage of his career, but still taking every race and season at a time.

"I do one year at a time. I'm not going to look to next year because there is a lot to achieve before 2013 even gets here," he said. "If we have strong year and get results then it will look after itself."