Round three of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Championship is up this weekend, with the series continuing to hunt for winter sunshine with a visit to the NTI Townsville 500. Alex Davison continues to deputise for Scott Taylor in the Ashley Seward Motorsport prepared entry.
A champion and 47-time race winner in the category, Davison has been challenged like never before in his return to the category, amidst one of the championship’s most competitive fields of all time. The Ashley Seward Motorsport crew have returned to the Equity-One Pro Class field in 2023 after fielding an all Pro-Am lineup in 2022, with Davison this year filling in for Scott Taylor in the #222.
A late call up to race at the season opening round during the Australian Grand Prix weekend meant limited preparation for Davison, who recorded a pair of top 10 finishes in tricky conditions. The Scott Taylor Motorsport stickered car showed strong race pace in Darwin for round two, but Davison was held back by the limited passing opportunities around the Hidden Valley Circuit.
Davison’s only prior Carrera Cup round around Townsville dates back to 2012 where a race victory and three podium finishes netted a runner-up result for the round. The former Supercars full-timer has contested many Townsville rounds since then aboard Supercars machinery, with one of his best rounds in his most recent full-time season (2020) coming from the North Queensland visit.
All the action will again be live on Fox Sports & Kayo, with Channel 7 offering free to air coverage from 12:00pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Weekend Schedule:
Friday
8:35am – Practice 1 (25 mins)
12:05pm – Practice 2 (25 mins)
Saturday
8:40am – Qualifying 1 (12 mins)
8:58am – Qualifying 2 (12mins)
12:40pm – Race 1 (17 laps)
Sunday
8:20am – Race 2 (28 laps)
12:40pm – Race 3 (17 laps)