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INTERNATIONAL STAR KEEN FOR MORE S5000
James Davison, one of Australia’s most accomplished drivers on the world stage, made his Nulon S5000 racing debut at the Australian Grand Prix at the weekend following a thwarted attempt in 2020.
Sporting the #4, which carries racing significance to the previous two generations of the Davison family – James’ grandfather, the legendary Lex Davison, and James’ father, Jon – the NASCAR Cup driver’s Rogers AF01/V8 Chassis (#018) was also making its debut, resplendent in Pilatus’ corporate colours of white and blue.
When it came to on-track results, the weekend may not have panned out as Davison would have liked, yet he was still full of praise for the S5000 category.
“It was an exciting opportunity to race S5000 at the F1 Australian Grand Prix. The cars are a blast to drive, very challenging and there are some good talents in the field,” Davison said.
The weekend got off to a good start with Davison placing 2nd in practice before a number of adversities arose, beginning with the #4 car developing a mechanical issue which caused Davison to be three seconds off in qualifying, seeing him start the races from the back.
“In race one we got up to eighth before a cut on the tyre; it delaminated it with a lap to go. In race two we were hit from behind, ending the race there. In race three, our gremlin from qualifying started to slowly redevelop; BRM believed it to be clutch or electrical related,” Davison said.
“Regardless, I had fun and have been around racing long enough to know it is all part of it.
“BRM are a fantastic team to work with, and all the drivers got along well as teammates.”
While Davison currently has no firm plans in place for further racing in Australia, he is keen to return to S5000 in the future.
“The racer and competitive person within me would like to come back to S5000 and execute a good weekend,” he said.
“I think it’s a fantastic series with a lot of potential. The events racing on the Gold Coast and potentially Adelaide later in the year interest me.”
Making Davison’s slick white and blue entry possible were sponsors Pilatus, Leasexpress, Portsea Estate, Cali Beach Club, NHP, Hafele, and The Trip.
The next round of Nulon S5000 is at Sydney Motorsport Park as part of a bumper Shannons Motorsport Australian Championships program on May 27-29.