Alex Davison today drove Dick Johnson Racing's #18 APVC Racing Falcon across the line in ninth position after a demanding Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama.

Despite struggling with speed due to a broken roll bar cable, Davison skilfully steered the last stint of the 161 lap race whilst staving off constant pressure from behind, as co-driver Grant Denyer watched on.
Davison even managed to clock his fastest lap in this period, at 2:10.2136 seconds.

The Davison / Denyer duo drove a consistent race, leaving not a scratch on the #18 V8 Supercar, and at their peak held third position for a lengthy period, just hoping for a timely safety car to allow for a pit stop.

Unable to hold on, and with Davison's seat belts popping open on Conrod in the final stages, a pit was made, they rejoined the field and held ninth till the end.

"We could have done a bit better," Alex Davison said.

"Potentially even a podium if the roll bar cable didn't break.

"In the last stint I was just trying to survive without crashing, just trying to stay out of trouble.

"There was a lot of pressure out there, I had Bargwanna pushing me from behind for a while and I just didn't have the speed I needed with the roll bar problem.

"And then I was going down Conrod, and all of a sudden my belts popped open. all I could think was what would happen to me if I crashed.

"But Grant and the team did such a great job, we started 13th and were aiming for top ten and we've done it.

"I've had a fantastic weekend with Dick Johnson Racing, I've loved driving a V8, I'd really like it if they would take me on full time!"
Denyer, the mountain's most famous weatherman, also put in an impressive performance as co-driver of #18, continually holding the pace and toughing it out on the 6.134 kilometer circuit.

"It was tough out there, and this was really the best result we could hope for considering we set our goal to be in the top ten," Grant Denyer said.

"We were holding on to third place for quite a while and just hoping for a safety car so we could come in for a splash and dash, but it didn't happen for us.

"Alex did a terrific job especially considering he didn't have the speed he needed towards the end.

"I can't believe it though, I've lived out my dream of driving at Bathurst.in terms of what's next, well who knows.they say it's like earning money, your first million is the hardest!"

"I have to say, this was the most amount of pressure I've experienced emotionally in my life, even just watching Alex in the final stages was nerve wracking. I've got no fingernails and no knuckles left."

In an unforseen turn of events, the #17 FirstRock Racing Falcon driven by Steven Johnson, started from tenth on the grid, however spun out and crashed on lap 28 before co-driver Will Davison had a chance to get behind the wheel.

The incident happened after a struggle with car balance, which the team aimed to fix on the first pit stop, but when the tyres became cooler during a safety car period Johnson found himself in trouble.

#17 was towed from the track and Johnson and Davison were unable to finish.

With round nine of the V8 Supercar Championship complete, full-time driver Steven Johnson sits in ninth position in the series, and Will Davison seventeenth.