Will Davison Wins Leg Two of The Tradingpost Perth Challenge

Will Davison has won the second race of the Tradingpost Perth Challenge at the Barbagallo Raceway, ahead of pole-sitter Jamie Whincup and FPR teammate Mark Winterbottom.

Davison, starting third on the grid was the only front-runner to start the 50 lap race on the soft tyres and just one of four drivers in the 28-strong field to start the race on the faster compound. The gamble paid off and Davison overtook teammate Winterbottom for second by the end of the first lap. Two laps later he pounced for the lead overtaking his TeamVodafone rival on the inside, building a six second lead before the midrace pitstop. Whincup made the switch to softs when he pitted on lap 25 and chipped away at Davison’s lead but the Tradingpost FPR driver held the lead to the chequered flag.

Race one winner Winterbottom harried Whincup after the pitstops, but the Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon fell away as the laps took a toll on his soft tyres.

“They were  coming at me and I was just hoping that their softs would start dropping off,” said Davison.

“The car was super consistent and it worked a treat, I’m stoked.”

“We’ve found at times that when there’s more soft tyre running the track goes a bit slippery which makes it worse on the hard tyres, but my car certainly hung in there beautifully.”

“It was a nervewracking race but I just kept my cool. After yesterday this is such a good way to bounce back.”

A late surge from Fabian Coulthard saw the Lockwood Racing driver charge to fourth ahead of IRWIN Racing's Lee Holdsworth. Craig Lowndes took the second TeamVodafone car from 14th on the grid to sixth with Tim Slade (Lucky 7 Racing), Jason Bright (TeamBOC), David Reynolds (The Bottle-O Racing Team) and Garth Tander (Holden Racing Team) rounded out the top ten.

Davison’s fourth win of the year trimmed Whincup’s series lead from 51 to 43 ahead of the Perth round finale.

Whincup will again start from pole after topping the double qualifying sessions.

Race 8 result:

1	Will Davison	Trading Post FPR Ford	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:02.2171
2	Jamie Whincup	TeamVodafone	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:05.1374
3	Mark Winterbottom	Orrcon Steel FPR Ford	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:12.3754
4	Fabian Coulthard	Lockwood Racing	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:14.9221
5	Lee Holdsworth	Irwin Racing	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:18.2907
6	Craig Lowndes	TeamVodafone	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:21.8292
7	Tim Slade	Lucky 7 Racing	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:22.4849
8	Jason Bright	Team BOC	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:24.1211
9	David Reynolds	The Bottle-O Racing Team	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:27.7227
10	Garth Tander	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:32.5616
11	Shane Van Gisbergen	SP Tools Racing	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:40.7005
12	Michael Caruso	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:41.7383
13	James Courtney	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:42.4989
14	Michael Patrizi	Tekno Autosports	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:47.1744
15	Tony D'Alberto	Tony D'Alberto Racing	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:48.0661
16	Greg Murphy	Pepsi Max Crew	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:48.4962
17	Russell Ingall	Supercheap Auto Racing	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:51.1054
18	Dean Fiore	Jim Beam Racing	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:53.4428
19	Steven Johnson	Jim Beam Racing	Ford Falcon FG	50	49:57.7646
20	Rick Kelly	Jack Daniel's Racing	Holden Commodore VE2	50	49:58.0783
21	Jonathon Webb	Tekno Autosports	Holden Commodore VE2	49	49:03.7883
22	Todd Kelly	Jack Daniel's Racing	Holden Commodore VE2	49	49:08.8792
23	Karl Reindler	Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing	Holden Commodore VE2	49	49:08.9218
24	James Moffat	Team Norton DJR	Ford Falcon FG	49	49:10.5559
25	David Wall	Wilson Security Racing	Holden Commodore VE2	49	49:14.2767
26	Taz Douglas	Team iSelect	Holden Commodore VE2	49	49:18.8173
27	Steve Owen	VIP Petfoods	Ford Falcon FG	48	49:28.6544
28	Alexandre Premat	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Holden Commodore VE2	47	49:47.8984