Will Davison

Will Davison
Will Davison in 2012
Nationality	Australian
V8 Supercar Record
Car number	6
Current team	Erebus Motorsport
Series Championships	0
Races	116
Round Wins	8
Podium finishes	23
Race Wins	16
Pole positions	16
2012 Championship position	4th (3049 pts)

Will Davison (born 30 August 1982 in Melbourne) is an Australian racing driver. He currently competes with Erebus Motorsport in the Australian V8 Supercars championship.

Early career

Davison won the 2001 Australian Formula Ford Championship, competing against future IndyCar driver Will Power and Leanne Ferrier.

Davison dynasty

His grandfather Lex Davison won the Australian Grand Prix four times and also won the 1957 Australian Drivers' Championship. His father Richard Davison was the winner of the 1980 Australian Formula 2 Championship and his brother Alex Davison has won numerous titles including the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship. Continuing the family tradition, cousin James Davison has competed in the IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series.

Racing in Europe

Taking a common route to Formula One, Davison picked up and moved to Buckinghamshire in England where he competed in the 2002 British Formula Renault Championship, finishing fourth in the series. In 2003 he moved up to the British Formula 3 Championship with Alan Docking Racing but an enforced mid-year change of teams to Menu F3 did not help his campaign. Davison continued with Menu F3 into 2004 but his campaign was cut short for financial reasons.

In 2004 he tested a Formula One car with fellow Australian Will Power at Misano, Italy for the Minardi team owned by Australian Paul Stoddart.^[1]

V8 Supercar

The Ford FG Falcon of Will Davison at the 2011 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

In 2005 he raced in several V8 Supercar races back in Australia after signing with Team Dynamik as a full-time driver. A change of ownership after the season-opening Formula 1 support race at Albert Park left him without a seat until the endurance events, the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000, where he was picked up by Dick Johnson Racing, co-driving with Steven Johnson in the #17 Westpoint Falcon.

During his time between Formula 3 and V8 supercar seats, Davison drove for A1 Team Australia in the inaugural season of the A1 Grand Prix where he was again under Alan Docking Racing. This time he experienced many ups and downs with many instances where he was taken out of a race due to no fault of his own. On the ups his highest finishing position was sixth at both the Portuguese and Australian rounds, where he proved vital in scoring points for the teamd despite experiencing a rocky start in Portugal.

By mid-November 2005, Davison had been signed as a full-time driver for Dick Johnson Racing, set to pilot the team's #18 Falcon.

In 2006, Davison’s first full season with Dick Johnson Racing racing the #18 Falcon was a quiet year as Davison was plagued by technical difficulties. He recorded only modest results, with a fourth place with teammate Steven Johnson at Sandown being his lone highlight. He finished 19th in the championship.

In 2007, Davison continued to drive the #18 Falcon under the team's new naming rights sponsor, Jim Beam. At the 2007 Sandown 500 and the 2007 Bathurst 1000 Davison again partnered with Steven Johnson for the third straight year, with he and Johnson scoring a third place at Bathurst. He finished 10th in the championship.

Davison remained at the team to race the #18 Falcon in 2008, winning his first V8 Supercar Race at Eastern Creek Raceway in race 2 of round 2, 2008. This was the beginning of a dream run which saw him claim his first V8 supercar round win along with giving DJR their first round victory in 7 seven years. Davison also scored a further 2 podiums in the year, one of these with teammate Steven Johnson at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island. He finished 5th in championship.

In 2009, Davison transferred to the Toll Holden Racing Team to drive the #22 Holden VE Commodore, his first full season in a Holden Commodore. This was Davison's best year: he finished 2nd in the championship after collecting individual wins at Sandown and Queensland as well as endurance wins at Phillip Island and Bathurst with Garth Tander, giving Davison his first Bathurst victory. He also scored many other podiums during the year.

In 2010, Davison continued with HRT, but technical issues and bad luck plagued him throughout the entire year and he finished the championship in 22nd place. Midway through the season, Davison decided to end his relationship with Toll Holden Racing Team and signed with Ford Performance Racing for 2011 to drive the #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon.^[2]

2011 saw Davison regain his form as a front runner, with four pole positions and six podiums. Although unable to break through for a win in his debut year with Ford Performance Racing, he ended the season 7th in the championship.

2012 started on a high note: after 11 starts and 6 wins, Davison was the leader of the series, involved in a very tight battle for the championship with Jamie Whincup and his FPR teammate Mark Winterbottom. However, after a stroke of bad luck in the endurance races, Davison only managed to finish fourth overall.

2013 once again ended in disappointment for Davison, with a number of racing incidents transpiring to ruin his championship ambitions causing him to finish third in the standings behind the Red Bull Racing Australia duo of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup. 2013 also marked the end of Davison's affiliation with Ford Performance Racing, with Davison confirming in early 2014 that he would be joining Erebus Motorsport following failed negotiations with FPR.^[3]

Career results

Complete British Formula Three results

(key)

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

1. ↑ http://www.italiaspeed.com/2004/motorsport/f1/minardi/2711_minardi_test.html
2. ↑ "Davison confirms HRT departure". Australian Associated Press. abc.net.au. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2014-02-09. 
3. ↑ "Will Davison joins Erebus Motorsport for 2014 V8 Supercars season". foxsports.com.au. foxsports.com.au. 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2014-02-09. 

External links

• Will Davison's racing profile