Changeable conditions, frequent stoppages and minimal practice time combined for a wild return to Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup for Alex Davison at the Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
Filling in the for the injured Scott Taylor in the STM #222, Davison was a late addition to the grid for the opening round of the season. Part of the unique nature of competing alongside Formula One saw the on-track action commencing on Thursday with a solitary practice session preceding qualifying and the opening race.
After settling in through practice, Davison was set for a series of late flying laps in qualifying to vault up the order but was halted by two red flags. The stoppages effectively cut the session in half, with no one able to improve in the closing stages of qualifying. As a result, Davison lined up 13th on the grid for race one.
A strong start had seen Davison looking to break inside the top 10 but after just three laps the red flag flew for an incident at turn eight. Damage to the fence left race control no option but to declare the race a non-event. It also meant race two’s grid reverted to qualifying results, putting Davison back to 13th once more.
“Starting the weekend, we had higher expectations than where we were at the back of the top 10 but on the plus side, we have a clean car and collected points in both races,” said Davison.
“We learnt plenty with the car setup with the limited time we had, by the end of the weekend we were moving in the right direction which hopefully can be put to use in the future.”
The rain fell consistently in the lead up to race two on Saturday, with wet tyres the final decision for the 13 lap race. Davison made good use of his experience as he carved his way past the competition to jump inside the top 10 to ninth place, setting comparable lap times to all of those in front.
Race three started in perfect conditions with the field setting record lap times, but the rain returned around halfway which sent many cars skating wide and through the grass. Battling on slick tyres, Davison expertly kept the #222 on the race track and was set to take advantage of mistakes in front when a Safety Car was called to neutralise the field amid deteriorating conditions. As the chequered flag flew, Davison had held on to a ninth-place finish.
“At the end with the rain coming down it was so tricky, you’re looking to see how heavy the drops are on the windscreen and you’re trying to guess what the track is going to be like at the next corner. It will be raining heavily on one part of the track so you’re swinging on the brake bias to get it back and suddenly it’s dry again and you’re swinging it back to your dry setting,” said Davison.
“This weekend given it is the start of the year and based on where we were in the field, I tried to keep the risk level down. It was extremely challenging but ultimately the car is going back on the truck with everything intact looking nice and shiny ready for the next outing,” concluded Davison.
Round two of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Championship will take place at Hidden Valley Raceway from June 16-18.