Davison keen on second chance
WILL Davison concedes himself and DJR teammate Anton De Pasquale are “in that hunt” for second as Supercars heads to the famous Pukekohe circuit with Shane van Gisbergen boasting a near-unassailable 500-point gap atop the Drivers Championship.
Davison and De Pasquale cross the Tasman 19 and 22 points adrift of Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters in second and with plans to keep the momentum rolling after a solid though somewhat unlucky weekend at Sandown, with race two hampered by electrical and pit stop issues.
“We race every weekend for ultimate glory and he’s (van Gisbergen) got that lead because they deserve it,” Davison said.
“There’s no point looking at the points. We’re looking at having better form. Form is all that matters. Having pace, pole position and winning races and hopefully we can do more of all of that before the year is out.
“The championship is the best man and team over the course of a long year. At this stage we’re right in that hunt for second and certainly aiming to finish the year on a high.”
Davison has converted eight poles into two victories this year and ended van Gisbergen’s five-win streak in the first SuperSprint at Sandown.
“I’m generally pretty happy with the year. I definitely would have liked to convert a few more poles (into wins),” he said. “We’ve had eight poles and 12 podiums; had a couple of wins slip through but we’ve been right there.
“There’s definitely ifs, buts and maybes but the level is extremely high and I’m enjoying that. I’m enjoying the challenge. It’s been far from a bad year and we’re coming off Sandown which was probably one of the strongest weekends of the year.”
The welcome to Pukekohe will be both exciting and sombre with the beloved raceway set to be retired from competition after this weekend.
Davison has plenty of fond memories of the track, including a win in 2013. He’s eager to spoil van Gisbergen’s homecoming party and take home the coveted Jason Richards Trophy as the top driver over the weekend.
“It’s sad actually to know the finality of it. We haven’t been there (Pukekohe) the past three years due to Covid and now the reality of it being the last one is pretty sad,” Davison said. “It’s an iconic circuit.”