Ford star Will Davison hoped to get his championship tilt back on track after claiming pole position for the V8 Supercars Ipswich round’s finale at Queensland Raceway on Sunday.
Davison set the early pace in 2012 by claiming five race wins, only to watch defending champion – Holden’s Jamie Whincup – launch a stunning comeback and claim the series lead heading into the Ipswich round.
Now placed third overall in the drivers’ standings, Davison hoped to have revitalised his championship dream after topping the time sheets on Sunday.
He clocked 1min 9.48sec ahead of Ford teammate Mark Winterbottom (1:09.50), Whincup (1:09.51) and Saturday’s 140km race winner Craig Lowndes (1:09.58).
“You’ve got to respect your opposition, they lifted. But I knew deep down I had to answer back here,” Davison said of Whincup’s series challenge.
“But we are not getting carried away.”
Davison would have been forgiven for feeling nervous arriving at Queensland Raceway after he and Winterbottom suffered a nightmare Ipswich round last year, battling to break into the top 15.
But the pair have had no such troubles this weekend – Winterbottom finished second and Davison sixth on Saturday before backing up with Sunday’s stellar qualifying performance.
The Ipswich round concludes with a 200km race starting at 3.30pm (AEST)
Whincup (1923 points) currently leads the series midway through the season ahead of Winterbottom (1832), Davison (1756) and Lowndes (1646).
AAP lc