V8SC 2012 Round 4: Davison Wins 2 From 3, Sacrifices Series Lead

Ford Performance Racing's Will Davison took out two from three races at this weekend’s Trading Post Perth Challenge at Barbagallo Raceway.

Despite adding these victories to an already impressive 2012 record, the Trading Post FPR Falcon driver has sacrificed his championship lead to reigning champion, Jamie Whincup.

The leadership change came after Davison finished 25th in the initial race on Saturday, a result of colliding with pole-sitter Garth Tander’s Toll HRT Commodore on the opening lap.

The collision ended Tander’s race, but the FPR pit crew were able to repair Davison’s car, losing nine laps in the process.

Davison vowed to come back fighting for the two Sunday races, and delivered on this promise despite Whincup nabbing pole for both.

Controversy surrounded Russell Ingall’s qualifying for the third race, with his 5th place-deserving 0:55.2889 laptime excluded from the results after nosing his car into his pit garage during the session, a big no-no for the highly structured qualifying sessions.

Ingall fumed over this decision, tweeting online;

“Super Cheap Auto Racing was totally done over today by V8 Supercars Australia. About time for a clean out with the powers that be. NOT GOOD ENOUGH.”

He alleged that the car was quickly pushed back out, with no work undertaken and therefore deserved a lesser punishment.

After starting at the rear of the grid, Ingall fought his way through the field to finish 13th.

The mandated use of soft compound tyres at various stages of the round spiced up the racing for most of the field, with Davison in particular, narrowly hanging onto his first position in the dying laps of the third race.

The rapidly deteriorating soft tyres forced him to lap four seconds slower than the fastest lap of the race.

Tekno Autosports driver Michael Patrizi enjoyed a career-best fifth placing in the third race, attributing his success to having qualified inside the top 10 for both Sunday races.

Tekno are still yet to sign a full-time major sponsorship deal for 2012, with both Patrizi and teammate Jonathon Webb wearing single-round signage this weekend.

Davison’s wins were his first at the Western Australian circuit, and brings his 2012 race victory tally to four.

New championship leader Whincup now sits 29 points ahead of Davison, placing 2nd, 2nd and 3rd across the races and taking full advantage of Davison’s Saturday misfortune.

Winterbottom sampled each level on the podium across the three races, with a 1st, 3rd, and 2nd over the weekend. This consistency helped him reinforce his third placing in the championship, now leading Craig Lowndes by a margin of 156 points.

The Orrcon Falcon driver trails Davison in the championship by 131 points.

The 2012 V8 Supercars Championship will continue at Phillip Island in a fortnight.

Championship Standings