![Will Davison delivered Dick Johnson Racing its first podium of the 2023 Supercars season at Hidden Valley in Darwin. Picture: InSyde Media](https://speedcafe.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RSC-HV-Speedcafe-Sat-118-1200x800.jpg)
Will Davison believes a drought-breaking Supercars podium in Race 13 at the Betr Darwin Triple Crown will help spur the Shell V-Power Racing Team back to the very top step.
The Ford homologation team, which won the drivers’ championship as recently as 2020 (as DJR Team Penske) and had been Triple Eight Race Engineering’s most consistent challenger in the following two years, has struggled so far in Gen3.
“I’m feeling good to get a trophy, a well-earned trophy for the team,” said Davison.
“We’ve had a big few years, so you don’t want to get carried away with thirds, but things have changed this year.
“We know it’s been a tough little period and it’s been a bit of a drought so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t ecstatic to give that little gift to the team for all the hard work.
“We’ve copped a lot of criticism as a big team – a lot of unfair criticism – but I’m just very proud of the team because the morale, the effort that’s continued to go in when we’ve had our backs against the wall, and everyone’s slamming you and putting you down; it’s is really inspiring.
“So, we’re digging in, we’re pushing really hard.
“It wasn’t that easy out there – I still had my challenges – but just great to get a trophy just to give that little motivation to everyone to just keep pushing, and we’ll get back on that top step.”
In the other DJR Mustang, Anton De Pasquale finished ninth.
While that was less impressive as a headline, De Pasquale had topped Friday practice, after which he hailed the “new direction” which the team had taken.
He then went and missed the top 10 in knockout qualifying by just 0.0298s and would start 12th on the grid.
Davison is currently ninth in the championship and De Pasquale 18th ahead of Races 14 and 15 today.