Following a horror run in the long distance races over recent seasons, Will Davison has gone above and beyond the regular call of duty to ensure he’s a winning force in this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup.
Davison and co-driver Steve Owen navigated through the lengthy three-part qualifying procedure on Saturday to secure pole position for today’s Sandown 500.
A difficult run for Davison in the 20 minute qualifying session left Owen to drive from sixth to second in the first qualifying race, before the primary driver jumped back aboard to out-pace rival Jamie Whincup from the outset of the second encounter.
The addition of Owen this year is undoubtedly an ace in the armoury of Davison, whose troubles in recent Sandown and Bathurst events have largely hit when previous co-drivers have been behind the wheel.
Such is Davison’s desire to succeed, it is understood that he personally topped up Owen’s salary for the three-race Pirtek Enduro Cup when it became clear that the two-time Development Series winner was going to be lured away by a higher bid from a rival team.
“I did push hard for Steve when I saw he was available; I did absolutely everything (to secure him),” admitted Davison during Saturday evening’s media conference.
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“I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned in the enduros this year, I wanted to make sure that we give it our best shot.
“I think that showed today (Saturday). He did an excellent job. All of the co-drivers are very fast, but it’s those little key times when you’ve got to capitalise (moving up from sixth on the grid) and he did it for me today.”
Despite a strong pre-event build-up, Davison’s past experiences ensures he’s not getting ahead of himself when it comes to expectations for the race.
“I’d love to say I’m super confident but I think in this sport, you can never be too cocky or too confident and the enduros always through curve balls,” he said.
“They (endurance races) have been pretty cruel to me the past couple of years but I don’t feel I did anything too wrong last year so all you can do is what’s in your control.
“These races scare the hell out of me but I love the challenge of it, it is part of this championship but yeah they scare me, there crazy some of the things that can go wrong.
“It’s about time I had a good run, it doesn’t come down to that unfortunately you have to earn it so we will have to see how we go. I feel confident we certainly will be in the battle and in with a good shot.”
Following an announcement on Saturday afternoon of FPR stable-mate David Reynolds’ new deal to remain in The Bottle-O Ford for a further two years, Davison confirmed that he remains without a deal for 2014.
Davison won the Bathurst 1000 with the Holden Racing Team in 2009 but is yet to taste success in the Sandown 500.
