IN THE COCKPIT: Alex Davison, Sydney V8s

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IN THE COCKPIT: Alex Davison, Sydney V8s

I was hoping that my final column of the year would be a positive one, but to be honest I’m finding it really difficult to write this one.

Alex Davison | Posted December 07, 2011

Alex Davison files his final column for SPEED.com after a tough 2011 V8 Supercars season. Lee Holdsworth, Davison's replacement in the SBR Ford, will take over the column in 2012. (IRWIN Racing)

If a championship is still to be decided at the final event of a season, it captures the imagination of every fan. We sure saw this in NASCAR recently, and the same was playing out in V8 Supercars.

There are several questions being asked. The big one is who will win the title but there are always several other scenarios playing out. In addition to the ‘big one’, in V8s we were waiting to see who would secure outright third and who would be where from positions eight through 10.

Some will say that positions two through 10 don’t matter, but the other nine in the top 10 and the couple outside challenging to get in would argue otherwise. There is a lot of kudos finishing a long season in the top 10, so if you have a chance to be there you pull out all stops to make it happen.

The history books will show that Jamie Whincup won his third V8 title in four years, beating home his teammate, three-time champion Craig Lowndes.

My teammate Shane van Gisbergen was fighting for third, but he got piped by fellow Ford driver Mark Winterbottom. The interest for me this weekend was to maintain my place in the top 10.

I’ve been no lower than ninth in the championship all year, so I was pretty desperate to stay there, but I knew it would be a struggle.

I’ve been hit from pillar to post over the last several rounds and my co-drivers in the endurance rounds have been involved in incidents that meant I haven’t collected a lot of big points recently.

If I hadn’t been hit, I would have been placed very comfortably in the top 10, but I came to Sydney holding on by the skin of my teeth.

I was hoping that my final column of the year would be a positive one, but to be honest I’m finding it really difficult to write this one.

There were two races held in Sydney last weekend. We were racing on a purpose built race track running around the stadiums and venues that staged the 2000 Olympic Games. It’s a tight, challenging circuit that requires 100 percent concentration and provides no margin for error.

Qualifying for me of late hasn’t been strong. On Saturday we were way down the grid, but the IRWIN Tools Ford was going alright. I got up to ninth but at the time of the last pit stop there was a safety car and I had to queue behind my teammate for fuel and tyres. I lost nine spots, but made up half a dozen or so to finish 12th. It was top eight that went begging but it was good to make up some spots.

The Sunday race will go down as one of the most disappointing of my career. It was the last of the season and my last in the Stone Brothers Racing run IRWIN Tools Ford. I had a lot to race for and I wanted to end the year on a high note.

It was wet, drivers were making mistakes and another car hit me from behind as we exited turn seven. It turned me into the concrete wall damaging the watts link and the diff.

I was out--there was too much to repair and no time.

My last race was over on lap 30 and I could not have been more shattered. My expectations were high and everything was taken away. Some will say that’s the highs and lows of motorsport, but this means nothing to me at the moment. It will take a little bit of time to get over this.

The situation meant I was passed by a couple of drivers and I finished 11th in the championship.

It’s my best-ever finish, but I should have been a lot higher. It’s hard to be pleased when things should have been different.

So the season is over and I go into an off season still to confirm what I’ll be doing in 2012. Hopefully this doesn’t take too long and things fall in to place.

On that note I’d like to sincerely thank SPEED for allowing me to contribute to the website. I’ve enjoyed bringing V8 Supercars to you and I hope it’s given you a small insight into the category and the events.

I’ll now turn my attention to the family, Christmas is on the way and we’re all looking forward to a break. I hope you get to enjoy the holidays as much as I will, Merry Christmas and all the best in 2012.

Alex Davison

Alex Davison is a third-generation racing driver having followed on from his father Richard Davison, an Australian F2 champion, and his late grandfather Lex Davison, a four-time Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix winner. Alex has raced Porsches internationally and has spent the last two seasons racing his IRWIN Tools Ford Falcon in the V8 Supercars Championship for Stone Brothers Racing, one of the biggest teams in the V8 pit lane.

Learn more about Alex and the IRWIN team at www.irwinracing.com.au.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Davison

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