New Erebus Motorsport recruit Will Davison is confident he will soon have the pace to be a consistent top 10 qualifier and racer in the team’s Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG V8 Supercar.
Davison emerged from his debut meeting at Clipsal 500 Adelaide believing some relatively small steps in chassis and engine development would bridge the performance gap.
And he confirmed some of those upgrades should arrive in time for this week’s Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix support races.
“Soon we will be knocking on the back-end of the 10 quite consistently and then we have to take that next step to be top five contenders,” he told v8supercars.com.au.
Davison found low-down power delivery from the AMG M159 V8 engine was an issue in Adelaide, while he also struggled for brake balance. It was also his first extended sampling of the unique E-Cell seat and he suffered pins and needles in his right foot, which he uses for both throttle and brake.
New parts are on the way, including more engine developments and a carbon-fibre pedal tray to resolve the pins and needles.
“There are a couple of large pretty easy chunks that we don’t have compared to the elite cars with engine driveability and things like that,” said Davison. “Once we get that, it will make a pretty big difference.”
He is quietly confident that improvements will boost results this week.
“I am not going to make any big statements but I think with some of the characteristics of our car I can see it being quite good.”
Davison had a mixed weekend in Adelaide in terms of results. He qualified 24th and 20th for Saturday’s two 125km races and translated those into 13th and 10th place finishes.
He qualified 17th for Sunday’s 250km mini-marathon but hit the notorious turn eight wall after a tap from James Moffat in the Norton Hornet Nissan Altima. His Benz has been repaired along with teammate Lee Holdsworth’s E63, which also copped damage in the Sunday race.
Davison, who moved to Erebus from Ford Performance Racing on a four-year deal, said he felt “shattered” for the team because he did not bring the car home on the Sunday in the points.
“I am realistic; this is a real building year for us. I want to tick points over because I know it means a lot for the team and I really want to do my part for them, which means being a smart driver and not getting involved in s— and bringing home points.
“I am annoyed. I don’t get hot headed, I don’t try and be a hero out there, I don’t want to get caught up in that sort of stuff. It is pretty annoying for the team.
“We don’t have the pressure of a championship this year. All we have the pressure of is making our cars quick and that is what we are focussed on.”
Davison admitted being at odds with the car on the first day of the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, but became more comfortable on Saturday, especially in the races: “I was all of a sudden ‘wow’, I could really feel the potential in the car and it flipped 180.”
He said he was enjoying the atmosphere of his new team and working with hard-nosed racers like general manager Ross Stone and team manager David Stuart. He also took heart from Holdsworth’s strong performances, which included sixth place qualifying for Race Two and ninth for Race Three and fastest lap in Race Three.
“I am really enjoying it; it is a really cool process to go through being part of every change and really working with them on that. It is a really healthy vibe… we are constantly going to be raising the bar and it’s very cool to be part of that motivation.”
