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James Davison, 21, is
the son of former Formula 5000 racing driver Jon Davison, President of
Sandown International Motor Raceway. James’ Grandfather Lex Davison
was four times winner of the Australian Grand Prix, but killed in 1965
at Sandown Park whilst driving his 2.5 litre Brabham Climax in
practice for the International 100. James was educated at Scotch
College, one of Australia’s most respected private boys school. In
2003 he coxed Scotch College’s rowing crew which won the crew of the
season and the winners final at the Head of the River.
In 2004 whilst
completing his final year of school, James continued the Davison
dynasty starting his motor racing career in the Victorian Formula Ford
State Series in a nine year old RF95 Van Diemen. Racing against up to
35 vastly more experienced competitors all equipped with the latest
cars including the top two Kart Stars drivers for 2003, James proved
immediately competitive earning a pole position in the second round of
the series. James went on to win and secure a 4th place finish in his
first National race outing at Winton. It was an outstanding year.
In December 2004 after
graduating from Scotch College, James qualified for the Formula BMW
USA Junior Scholarship Program at their Racing Center in Valencia
Spain. He performed superbly, impressed many onlookers and was in the
top two qualifiers. For 2005 he joined Austrian HBR Motorsport. During
the season he qualified on the front row for both races at the
Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, won at the US Grand Prix held at the
famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was second at Denver and Mid Ohio
and third at Barber Motorsports Park and Road Atlanta. When asked his
opinion on the 2005 Season, a reflective Davison stated "I came to the
United States to challenge the best. During the year I achieved 5
podiums from 12 races, qualified on the front row at Montreal (DNS)
and Denver and won and set the fastest lap at Indianapolis." James
finished in the top ten at the Formula BMW World Final held at Bahrain
in December. Based on these performances, James became part of the
Confederation of Australian Motorsport Elite Driver program which
included attendance at the Australian Institute of Sport and financial
support from the Foundation.
For 2006 James joined
‘Team Australia’ under the Walker Racing banner to contest the
prestigious Champ Car Formula Atlantic Series. During the season he
competed in 10 races consistently finishing higher than his qualifying
position and defeated his experienced teammate and eventual series
champion Simon Pagenaud by the end of the season.
For 2007 James joined
Velocity Motorsports in North Carolina and proved to be an
outstanding competitor in the Star Mazda Championship. In the twelve
round series he qualified or finished in the top three in ten of the
twelve rounds and finished second in the Championship. As a result
of his success he was evaluated by Sam Schmidt Motorsports who had
won the 2004/06/07 Indy Pro Series and proved to be very competitive
in a pre season test at Sebring, resulting in an invitation to join
Sam Schmidt Motorsports for the 2008 IPS Series. This is
particularly significant given that the IRL and Champ Car have
resolved their differences resulting in a unified US Open Wheeler
Series.
For further details contact James Davison at
jamesdavison4@hotmail.com.
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