William 'THE SOOK' Davison (born 30 August 1982) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.17

Ford Mustang GT The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best sellin ...

for

Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing (formerly DJR Team Penske), is Australia's oldest motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team currently fields the #11 and #17 Ford Mustang GTs for Anton de Pasquale and Will Davison respectivel ...

in the Repco Supercars Championship. Davison is a two-time winner of the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rece ...

, in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Early career

Having won the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

n title in 2000, Davison won the 2001 Australian Formula Ford Championship, competing against future

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapoli ...

driver Will Power and Leanne Ferrier.

Open-wheel career

European campaign

Taking a common route to

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, Davison packed up and moved to

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

where he competed in the 2002

British Formula Renault Championship British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was ge ...

, finishing fourth in the series. In 2003 he moved up to the

British Formula 3 Championship The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single seat ...

with

Alan Docking Racing Alan Docking Racing (ADR) is a motor racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom. The team was formed in 1975 by Australian Alan Docking. The team competed in the British Formula 3 series throughout most of its existence; however, it has ...

but an enforced mid-year change of teams to Menu F3 did not help his campaign. Davison continued with Menu F3 into 2004 but his campaign was cut short for financial reasons. In 2004 he tested a

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followi ...

Formula One car with fellow Australian Will Power at the Misano World Circuit in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, organised by Minardi's Australian team owner,

Paul Stoddart Paul Stoddart (born 26 May 1955) is an Australian businessman, airline owner and former Minardi Formula One team boss. Personal life Born in Coburg, Melbourne, Australia, and attended Preston Technical School and St Joseph's College Melbourn ...

A1 Grand Prix

During his time between Formula 3 and V8 Supercar seats, Davison drove for

A1 Team Australia A1 Team Australia was the Australian team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. Management The team chairman is former Formula One world champion Alan Jones, backed by general manager and former NASCAR driver Peter Nolan. The se ...

in the inaugural season of the

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most f ...

, where he was once again racing for Alan Docking Racing. During the season he experienced many ups and downs, including being involved in various incidents outside his own control. The positives for the season were two sixth-place finishes in both the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

feature races.

Touring car career

Team Dynamik

In 2004, Will made his first appearance in Australia's premier

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

series, V8 Supercars, driving a third car for

Team Dynamik Team Dynamik was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian V8 Supercar racing between 2001 and 2005. History Owned by Kieran Wills, Adelaide based Team Dynamik debuted in the 2001 with Simon Wills racing an ex Gibson Motorsp ...

at Winton. However, it was an inauspicious debut as he only managed to complete a single lap before retiring. He then reappeared in the next round at Oran Park before co-driving with

Dale Brede Dale Brede (born 12 October 1974 in Canberra) is a racing driver from Australia. He formerly competed in the V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Féd ...

in the endurance events, the

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...

and

, with the latter event marking his final appearance of the season.

Dick Johnson Racing

In 2005, Will was not able to find a full-time drive. However, he did appear at Sandown and Bathurst, where he drove for

, co-driving with Steven Johnson in the No. 17 Westpoint

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

. By mid-November 2005, Davison had been signed as a full-time driver for Dick Johnson Racing, set to pilot the team's No. 18 Falcon in 2006. For Davison, 2006 was a quiet year as Davison was plagued by technical difficulties. He recorded only modest results, with a fourth place with team-mate Steven Johnson at Sandown being his lone highlight. He finished 19th in the championship. In 2007, Davison continued to drive the No. 18 Falcon under the team's new naming rights sponsor,

Jim Beam Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohibition in the United States, Prohibition), seven gene ...

. In the 2007 endurance races, Davison partnered with Steven Johnson for the third straight year, with the duo scoring a third place at Bathurst. He finished 10th in the championship. Davison remained at the team to race the No. 18 Falcon in 2008, winning his first championship race and round at

Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney Motorsport Park (known until May 2012 as Eastern Creek International Raceway) is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek (40-kilometres west of the Sydney CBD), New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the Western Sy ...

the second round of 2008. It was the team's first round victory in seven years. Davison also scored a further 2 podiums in the year, one of these with teammate Steven Johnson at the Phillip Island 500. He finished a career-high 5th in championship.

Holden Racing Team

In 2009, Davison moved to the Holden Racing Team to drive the No. 22

Holden VE Commodore The Holden Commodore (VE) is an executive car that was produced by Holden from 2006 to 2013. It was the first iteration of the fourth generation of the Holden Commodore, Commodore. Its range included the luxury variants, Holden Berlina (VE) and ...

. This was Davison's best year to date; he finished 2nd in the championship after collecting a round win at the

Sandown Challenge The Sandown SuperSprint was a Supercars motor racing event held at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event was a semi-regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Australian Touring Car C ...

, a race win at

Queensland Raceway Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit did host Supercars Championship until 2019, drifting as well as club level racing and ride days. Qu ...

and a rare endurance double at the Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000, driving with Garth Tander. This provided Davison with his first Bathurst victory. He also scored several other podiums during the year, and won the

Barry Sheene Medal The Barry Sheene Medal is an annual award honouring the achievements of a driver in the Supercars Championship, an Australian touring car series. Tony Cochrane, the chairman of the championship's organising body Australian Vee Eight Supercar Co ...

at the post-season awards night. In 2010, Davison continued with HRT, but technical issues and bad luck plagued him throughout the entire year and he finished the championship in 22nd place. Midway through the season, Davison decided to end his relationship with Holden Racing Team and signed with Ford Performance Racing for 2011 to drive the No. 6

Trading Post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

FPR Falcon.

Ford Performance Racing

2011 saw Davison regain his form as a front runner, with four pole positions and six podiums. Although unable to break through for a win, he ended the season 7th in the championship. 2012 started on a high note: after 11 starts and 6 wins, including winning the Clipsal 500 Adelaide for the first time, Davison was the leader of the series, albeit involved in a very tight battle for the championship with

Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden ZB Commodore, won a rec ...

and his FPR teammate

Mark Winterbottom Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom (born 20 May 1981) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently competes in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving the No. 18 Holden ZB Commodore for Team 18. His career highlights include winning the ...

. However, after a stroke of bad luck in the endurance races, despite scoring his maiden Bathurst 1000 pole position, Davison only managed to finish fourth overall. 2013 once again ended in disappointment for Davison, with a number of racing incidents transpiring to ruin his championship ambitions causing him to finish third in the standings behind the

Triple Eight Racing Triple Eight Racing was a auto racing, motorsports team formed in 1996 as Triple Eight Race Engineering, which competed in the British Touring Car Championship and the British GT Championship. The team's original focus was to design, build an ...

duo of

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Sup ...

and Jamie Whincup.

Erebus Motorsport

Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG (W212) of Will Davison 2015

Davison confirmed in early 2014 that he would be joining

Erebus Motorsport Erebus Motorsport, (formerly known as Erebus Racing,) is an Australian motor racing team. The team competes in the Supercars Championship with two Holden ZB Commodores. The team's current drivers are Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki. The team i ...

on a four-year contract. Driving a

Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive cars manufactured by German automaker Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. Produced since 1953, the E-Class falls midrange in the Mercedes line-up, and has been marketed worldwi ...

, he finished 14th in 2014 and 15th in 2015, collecting just one win, at the 2015 Ubet Perth Super Sprint, and six top five results. In both years, Davison drove with his brother

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple p ...

in the

Enduro Cup The Enduro Cup (formally known as the Pirtek Enduro Cup for sponsorship reasons), was an award given out to the highest points scorers over the three endurance events in Supercars; the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and the Gold Coast 600. Format Qu ...

, narrowly missing a Bathurst podium in 2014. Financial pressures on the team resulted in Davison being given permission in mid-2015 to negotiate a drive elsewhere.

Tekno Autosports

Davison moved to

Tekno Autosports Tekno Autosports was an Australian motor racing team, established in the 1990s initially for the motor racing activities of Stephen Webb, and later his son Jonathon Webb. The team competes in the Supercars Championship using two Holden ZB Commod ...

in 2016, returning to Holden for the first time since 2010. The move brought Davison near-immediate success, winning the second round of the year, the

Tasmania SuperSprint The Tasmania SuperSprint (formally known as the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston, Tasmania. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Champions ...

. After a lean patch in the middle of the year, Davison returned to form at the Enduro Cup, finishing third at Sandown with

Jonathon Webb Jonathon Webb (born 10 December 1983) is an Australian former professional racing driver and team owner of Team Sydney, who once co-drove alongside Fabian Coulthard in the No. 19 Holden ZB Commodore for the Pirtek Enduro Cup. In 2016, Webb an ...

. At the Bathurst 1000, Davison achieved an even better result, capitalising on late drama between the race leaders to take his second Bathurst crown, despite not leading any laps.

23Red Racing

Davison contested the Supercars Championship with

23Red Racing 23Red Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the Supercars Championship. It fielded a single Tickford Racing-run Ford, driven by Will Davison. The team had also competed in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia and plann ...

from 2018 through to the demise of the team in 2020. Davison Supercars Ride Day Aug 2019

Dick Johnson Racing

In 2020, it was announced that Davison will sign for

in the

2021 Supercars Championship The 2021 Supercars Championship (commercially known as the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship) was a motor racing series for Supercars. It was the twenty-third running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-fifth series in which Supercars ...

racing alongside

Anton de Pasquale Anton De Pasquale (born 14 September 1995) is an Australian motor racing driver. He currently drives the No. 11 Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing in the Repco Supercars Championship in 2021. He briefly raced in various Formula Renault se ...

GT career

Davison has competed multiple times in the

Bathurst 12 Hour The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for GT and production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, Australia. The race was first held in 1 ...

, with a best result of 3rd in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

in an Erebus Motorsport-prepared

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (C197 / R197) is a front mid-engine, 2-seater, limited production grand tourer developed by the Mercedes-AMG division of German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, with the assistance of David Coulthard. The car is ...

Personal life

His grandfather

Lex Davison Alexander Nicholas Davison (12 February 1923 – 20 February 1965) was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 and 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1957. He drove HWM-Jaguar, Ferrari, As ...

won the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different ven ...

four times and also won the

1957 Australian Drivers' Championship The 1957 Australian Drivers' Championship was a Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, CAMS-sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre cars. The championship was contested over a nine race series with the winner awar ...

. His father Richard Davison was the winner of the 1980 Australian Formula 2 Championship and his brother

Alex Davison Alexander Davison (born 3 November 1979) is an Australian racing driver. He won the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship. As part of the Davison motorsport family, he is the older brother of Will Davison, grandson of Lex Davison and cousin ...

has won numerous titles including the

2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship The 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.James Davison has competed in the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

and the

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

. His grandmother Diana Davison was one of the first female racing drivers in Australia. His stepgrandfather

Tony Gaze Frederick Anthony Owen Gaze, (3 February 1920 – 29 July 2013) was an Australian fighter pilot and racing driver. He flew with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, was a flying ace credited with 12.5 confirmed victories (11 and 3 shar ...

was a decorated fighter pilot in World War II and also a Formula One driver. Davison is married to Riana Crehan as of early 2020, a pit reporter for Supercars Media.

Career results

Supercars Championship results

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Will Davison's racing profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Will 1982 births A1 Team Australia drivers Bathurst 1000 winners British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Formula Ford drivers Living people People educated at Xavier College Racing drivers from Melbourne Supercars Championship drivers Motaworld Racing drivers Alan Docking Racing drivers Dick Johnson Racing drivers Audi Sport drivers W Racing Team drivers McLaren Racing drivers