HRT was always my goal: Davison
Release date: 28/01/2009
Holden Racing Team’s newest kid on the block says it has always been a dream of his to drive for the Red Lion’s greatest team.
Will Davison was given a standing ovation from Holden workers at the Red Lion’s Port Melbourne facility when it was confirmed today (Wednesday) that he will be Garth Tander’s new colleague in 2009.
“This is amazing; what an atmosphere… (it’s like) nothing I have experienced before,” he said.
Davison said he was not daunted at the prospect of racing for Holden’s main team.
“It’s very exciting because I feel really well prepared for this opportunity,” he said.
“I’ve worked hard my whole career to get here and I feel like I’ve earned it.
“They’re the benchmark team in Australia and it’s an honour and I’m just looking forward to knuckling down with everyone involved and achieving what I believe I’m definitely capable of.”
The 26-year-old revealed his family connection to Holden went back two generations.
“My grandfather, Lex Davison, actually drove the first motorsport event Holden entered, the Monte Carlo Rally, in 1953,” he said.
“Holden is really the heart and soul of my family so it is really good to be back home.
“Holden Racing Team, it’s the team I dreamt to drive for my whole life and I just can’t wait to get stuck into it.”
Tander, who won the V8 Supercar Championship in 2007, said Davison’s signing will reinvigorate HRT.
“Because when you look at it last year, Mark (Skaife) had been with the team for a considerable period of time and I’d been with the WP guys three or four years so I guess looking at the car … he’s entering the phase of his career where he’s really in control of what he’s doing.”
Tander had no concerns about Davison upstaging him and said the only goal was for HRT to become the all-conquering powerhouse it used to be.
“If he finishes first in the first race and I finish second I won’t be concerned at all,” he smiled.
Davison said he was “massively hungry” for a Championship and hoped to bring a young attitude to the team.
“Nothing else in my life really interferes with my job,” he stated.
And Davison is relishing the chance to work with Tander.
“I can’t wait,” Davison enthused.
“He’s a guy I’ve looked up to for the last couple of years and you actually benchmark yourself against the best.
“We want to work well together for the whole the team to move forward and that’s the key.
“Although we’re going to be competing against each other very hard, we’re going to work together really well to make sure we’re one-two and then we’ll sort out who’s one!”
