William Davison (born 30 August 1982) is an Australian professional racing driver. He co-drives with Matt Payne in the No. 19 Ford Mustang GT for Grove Racing in the Ryco Enduro Cup. Davison is a two-time winner of the Bathurst 1000, in 2009 and 2016.
Early career Having won the Victorian title in 2000, Davison won the 2001 Australian Formula Ford Championship, competing against future IndyCar driver Will Power and Leanne Ferrier.
Open-wheel career
European campaign Taking a common route to Formula One, Davison packed up and moved to Buckinghamshire in England where he competed in the 2002 British Formula Renault Championship, finishing fourth in the series. In 2003 he moved up to the British Formula 3 Championship with Alan Docking Racing but an enforced mid-year change of teams to Menu F3 did not help his campaign. Davison continued with Menu F3 into 2004 but his campaign was cut short for financial reasons.
In 2004, Davison tested a Minardi Formula One car with fellow Australian Will Power at the Misano World Circuit in Italy, organised by Minardi's Australian team owner, Paul Stoddart.
A1 Grand Prix During his time between Formula 3 and V8 Supercar seats, Davison drove for A1 Team Australia in the inaugural season of the A1 Grand Prix, where he was once again racing for Alan Docking Racing. During the season he experienced many ups and downs, including being involved in various incidents outside his own control. The positives for the season were two sixth-place finishes in both the Portuguese and Australian feature races.
Touring car career
Team Dynamik In 2004, Davison made his first appearance in Australia's premier touring car series, V8 Supercars, driving a third car for Team Dynamik at Winton. However, it was an inauspicious debut as he only managed to complete a single lap before retiring. He then reappeared in the next round at Oran Park before co-driving with Dale Brede in the endurance events, the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000, with the latter event marking his final appearance of the season.
Dick Johnson Racing In 2005, Davison was not able to find a full-time drive. However, he did appear at Sandown and Bathurst, where he drove for Dick Johnson Racing, co-driving with Steven Johnson in the No. 17 Westpoint Falcon. By mid-November 2005, Davison had been signed as a full-time driver for Dick Johnson Racing, set to pilot the team's No. 18 Falcon in 2006.
For Davison, 2006 was a quiet year as Davison was plagued by technical difficulties. He recorded only modest results, with a fourth place with team-mate Steven Johnson at Sandown being his lone highlight. He finished 19th in the championship. In 2007, Davison continued to drive the No. 18 Falcon under the team's new naming rights sponsor, Jim Beam. In the 2007 endurance races, Davison partnered with Steven Johnson for the third straight year, with the duo scoring a third place at Bathurst. He finished tenth in the championship.
Davison remained at the team to race the No. 18 Falcon in 2008, winning his first championship race and round at Eastern Creek Raceway the second round of 2008. It was the team's first round victory in seven years. Davison also scored a further two podiums in the year, one of these with teammate Steven Johnson at the Phillip Island 500. He finished a career-high fifth in the championship.
Holden Racing Team
In 2009, Davison moved to the Holden Racing Team to drive the No. 22 Holden VE Commodore. This was Davison's best year to date; he finished second in the championship after collecting a round win at the Sandown Challenge, a race win at Queensland Raceway and a rare endurance double at the Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000, driving with Garth Tander. This provided Davison with his first Bathurst victory. He also scored several other podiums during the year and won the Barry Sheene Medal at the post-season awards night.
In 2010, Davison continued with HRT, but technical issues and bad luck plagued him throughout the entire year and he finished the championship in 22nd place. Midway through the season, Davison decided to end his relationship with Holden Racing Team and signed with Ford Performance Racing for 2011 to drive the No. 6 Trading Post FPR Falcon.
Ford Performance Racing
2011 saw Davison regain his form as a front runner, with four pole positions and six podiums. Although unable to break through for a win, he ended the season seventh in the championship.
2012 started on a high note: after 11 starts and six wins, including winning the Clipsal 500 Adelaide for the first time, Davison was the leader of the series, albeit involved in a very tight battle for the championship with Jamie Whincup and his FPR teammate Mark Winterbottom. However, after a stroke of bad luck in the endurance races, despite scoring his maiden Bathurst 1000 pole position, Davison only managed to finish fourth overall.
2013 once again ended in disappointment for Davison, with a number of racing incidents transpiring to ruin his championship ambitions causing him to finish third in the standings behind the Triple Eight Racing duo of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.
Erebus Motorsport
Davison confirmed in early 2014 that he would be joining Erebus Motorsport on a four-year contract. Driving a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, he finished 14th in 2014 and 15th in 2015, collecting just one win, at the 2015 Ubet Perth Super Sprint, and six top-five results. In both years, Davison drove with his brother Alex in the Enduro Cup, narrowly missing a Bathurst podium in 2014. Financial pressures on the team resulted in Davison being given permission in mid-2015 to negotiate a drive elsewhere.
Tekno Autosports
Davison moved to Tekno Autosports in 2016, returning to Holden for the first time since 2010. The move brought Davison near-immediate success, winning the second round of the year, the Tasmania SuperSprint. After a lean patch in the middle of the year, Davison returned to form at the Enduro Cup, finishing third at Sandown with Jonathon Webb. At the Bathurst 1000, Davison achieved an even better result, capitalising on late drama between the race leaders to take his second Bathurst crown, despite not leading any laps.
23Red Racing Davison contested the Supercars Championship with 23Red Racing from 2018 through to the demise of the team in 2020.
Dick Johnson Racing
In 2020, it was announced that Davison would sign for Dick Johnson Racing in the 2021 Supercars Championship racing alongside Anton de Pasquale.
GT career Davison has competed multiple times in the Bathurst 12 Hour, with a best result of 3rd in 2014 in an Erebus Motorsport-prepared Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Personal life His grandfather Lex Davison won the Australian Grand Prix four times and also won the 1957 Australian Drivers' Championship. His father Richard Davison was the winner of the 1980 Australian Formula 2 Championship and his brother Alex Davison has won numerous titles including the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship as well as also competing in Supercars for several years. Continuing the family tradition, cousin James Davison has competed in the IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. His grandmother Diana Davison was one of the first female racing drivers in Australia. His stepgrandfather Tony Gaze was a decorated fighter pilot in World War II and also a Formula One driver.
Davison is married to Riana Crehan as of early 2020, a pit reporter for Supercars Media.
Career results
Season Series Position Car Team 2000 Australian Formula Ford Championship 6th Stealth Van Diemen RF95 - Ford Will Davison Victorian Formula Ford Championship 1st 2001 Australian Formula Ford Championship 1st Van Diemen RF01 - Ford Sonic Motor Racing Services 2002 British Formula Renault Championship 4th Tatuus - Renault 2.0 Motaworld Racing 2003 British Formula 3 Championship 8th Dallara F303 Spiess - Opel Alan Docking RacingMenu F3 Motorsport 2004 British Formula 3 Championship 13th Dallara F303 Spiess - Opel Menu F3 Motorsport V8 Supercar Championship Series 67th Holden VY Commodore Team Dynamik 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 59th Ford BA Falcon Dick Johnson Racing HPDC V8 Supercar Series 28th Ford AU Falcon 2005/06 A1 Grand Prix 13th Lola A1GP Zytek A1 Team Australia 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 19th Ford BA Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 10th Ford BF Falcon Dick Johnson Racing Australian GT Championship 20th Aston Martin DBRS9 Abcor Australian Tourist Trophy 7th 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series 5th Ford BF Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series 2nd Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 22nd Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship 7th Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing 2012 International V8 Supercars Championship 4th Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing 2013 International V8 Supercars Championship 3rd Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship 14th Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship 15th Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix Supercars Challenge 4th 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship 5th Holden VF Commodore Tekno Autosports 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 15th Holden VF Commodore Tekno Autosports 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 15th Ford FG X Falcon 23Red Racing 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 8th Ford Mustang GT 23Red Racing 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 24th Ford Mustang GT 23Red RacingTickford Racing 2021 Repco Supercars Championship 4th Ford Mustang GT Dick Johnson Racing 2022 Repco Supercars Championship 5th Ford Mustang GT Dick Johnson Racing 2023 Repco Supercars Championship 10th Ford Mustang GT S650 Dick Johnson Racing 2024 Repco Supercars Championship 9th Ford Mustang GT S650 Dick Johnson Racing
Complete Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship results (key) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 DC Points 2002 Motaworld Racing BRH OUL THR SIL THR BRH CRO SNE SNE KNO BRH DON DON 4th 222
Complete British Formula Three Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 DC Points 2003 Alan Docking Racing Dallara F303 Mugen-Honda DON112 DON212 SNE122 SNE2Ret CRO11 CRO2Ret KNO15 KNO25 SIL14 SIL27 CAS1Ret CAS216 OUL15 OUL28 ROC19 ROC2Ret THR1Ret THR27 8th 103 Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F303 Opel SpiessSPA114SPA211DON14DON27BRH12BRH27 2004 Menu F3 Motorsport Dallara F304 Opel DON114 DON23 SIL110 SIL2C CRO13 CRO22 KNO1Ret KNO27 SNE113 SNE28 SNE310CAS1CAS2DON1DON2OUL1OUL2SIL3SIL4THR1THR2 SPA1 SPA2 BRH1 BRH2 13th 48
Complete A1 Grand Prix results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points 2005–06 Australia GBRSPR GBRFEA GERSPR GERFEA PORSPR PORFEA AUSSPR AUSFEA MYSSPR MYSFEA UAESPR UAEFEA RSASPR RSAFEA IDNSPR IDNFEA MEXSPR MEXFEA USASPR USAFEA CHNSPR CHNFEA 13th 51
Super2 Series results Super2 Series results Year Team No. Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Position Points 2005 Dick Johnson Racing 19 Ford AU FalconADER1ADER2WAKR3WAKR4WAKR5EASR6EASR7EASR8 QLDR9 QLDR10 QLDR11MALR12MALR13MALR14BATR15BATR16PHIR17PHIR18 28th 184
Supercars Championship results