AUS: Race three notes

Davison Secures Title While Webb and Quinn Excel

Alex Davison reinforced his status as one of Australia's brightest motor racing prospects by wrapping up his first Australian Carrera Cup title at the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 in Bathurst this morning.

Before stepping into a V8 Supercar for the 1000km great race, Davison (Greg Murphy Racing / Glenfords Discount Tool Centres) won race three and ultimately round eight of the Carrera Cup being held this weekend in Bathurst.

In doing so, the 24-year-old Porsche star secured the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup championship by extending his series lead to 246 points over last year's champion Jim Richards.

There is still one round to go at the Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast from October 21 to 24, but Davison has now made it impossible for Richards to bridge the gap thanks to his race three result today.

While Davison held his Bathurst trophy aloft, it was a memorable today for another two young guns of the Australian Carrera Cup, the primary support category to the V8 Supercars.

Jonathon Webb, 20, and Klark Quinn, 22, produced their best race results in the one-make championship, finishing second and third respectively in race three this morning.

These placings in the eight-lap race and the demise of rookie of the year leader Fabian Coulthard on lap six, also gave Webb (Tekno Autosports) and Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) a memorable podium finish at the motor racing mecca of Bathurst.

At the start, Davison led Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun, Mossimo) to the first corner however the Melbourne-based Kiwi got inside of his team mate on the turn to hit the lead.

Coming into Murray's Corner at the end of lap two, Davison edged inside of Coulthard to take the lead and give his series aspirations a massive boost.

The Greg Murphy Racing duo continued their tussle until lap six when Coulthard suffering from oversteer took an off track excursion into the sand at the top of Mount Panorama, ending his chance for an inaugural round win. This incident brought out the safety car for the second time in the three races this weekend.

After it left the track with one lap to go, Davison maintained his speed and form to win race three from Webb and Quinn.

Team VIP Petfoods drivers Craig Baird and Tony Quinn were fourth and fifth respectively, just ahead of Kevin Bell (International Motorsport NZ / G-Tech NZ). Richards placed seventh after starting from 20th on the grid.

After the three races, Davison was the round victor ahead of Webb and Quinn, with Coulthard shuffled back to fourth on points.

Webb's round podium made it two in a row for the young Sydneysider after placing third at Sandown three weeks ago. It was Quinn's first step onto a Carrera Cup podium in his second season of Porsche racing.

This round of the Australian Carrera Cup was dedicated to the memory of Alan Coleman who recently passed away at the age of 60 after a year long battle with illness.

The final round of the Australian Carrera Cup will be held at the Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast from October 21 to 24.

'Trackside' on Network Ten will telecast the highlights of round eight of the Carrera Cup from Bathurst on Sunday November 7 at 2pm (check local guides).

The Carrera Cup is the most successful 'one make' championship in the world with close-to-identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars built by Porsche' racing arm in Weissach, Germany racing in 2004. All cars have a top speed in excess of 300 kilometres per hour with a 400-horsepower, 6 cylinder Boxer engine which revs to 8000 RPM.

-cupcar.au-