I`m out for title, Davison warns

On the track where his famous grandfather lost his life, Holden's Will Davison on
Saturday sent out a clear warning he is targeting victory in this year's V8 Supercar
championship.
Davison, second in the standings behind Ford's Jamie Whincup, dominated Saturday,
snaring the first pole of his career as well as his first victory as a Holden
driver.
Despite getting jumped by Whincup on the opening lap, Davison controlled the race
and has narrowed the gap between him and the reigning champion to 126 points.
While Whincup sat fuming in his car as his crew battled with a left front wheel
change during a pitstop, the Holden Racing star cruised home to beat Dick Johnson
Racing's James Courtney and the TeamVodafone Falcon of Craig Lowndes.
Whincup had to settle for sixth place after the pit-stop problems.
It was Davison's second victory in V8 Supercars - his first coming last year in a
Ford at Eastern Creek.
Davison's grandfather, Lex, lost his life at Sandown in 1965 while racing a Brabham
Climax in practice for the International 100.
While he acknowledges the historical significance of his win, he regards it only as
"a good story" and is keener to concentrate on the implications of his victory for
the remainder of the series.
Most importantly, he is intent on running down Whincup.
Davison's win means he has taken 48 points out of Whincup's lead.
"I now know it's come to that time of the year where if I'm going to have a chance
of winning this championship I can't just keep sitting behind him in second
position," Davison said.
"He got me off the start line and I wasn't just going to settle for second. The car
was quick and I attacked him pretty hard there on about the second lap because I
felt like I had more speed.
"I maximised that opportunity early where I felt strong.
"You've got to be sensible in this sport - you can't just go and crash into people
but it's certainly that time now where I can't settle for second if I've got the
chance.
"It's great to have got some points back on him but there are a lot of races to go.
But this is a great start and a big confidence boost for me and the guys in my
team," Davison said.
"It feels like the best win in my career, for sure. It's a massive year for me, this
year.
"We couldn't have asked for a better start to the year but certainly we're getting
to that phase now where I was pounding the pressure on myself to start winning some
races.
"We're striving pretty high but personally this is a huge relief. Qualifying was
unbelievable this morning - that pole has alluded me and it certainly plays on your
mind a little bit.
"I haven't been that great earlier in the year in qualifying when I've clearly had a
car that's capable of being up there.
"But the relationship's getting stronger all the time with the team and what a
perfect day - we've really worked together for this one so it feels pretty special.
"The car speed was fantastic and I just looked after the soft tyres the whole race
and I drove it as hard as I needed to.
Courtney's second place backed up his race win last time out in Townsville and came
despite grappling with a technical issue with the car throughout the race.
"I still wouldn't have been able to pass Will though, he's been speedy all day
today," Courtney said.
"He made no mistakes driving under pressure, it was a really good job.
"Craig (Lowndes) was coming on pretty strong and I was glad the race was over
because those soft tyres weren't looking too happy at the end there."