Davison third in points after 'good recovery'

Will Davison leaves the NTI Townsville 500 third in the points standings after a "good recovery” in Sunday’s Race 16.

Davison raced to a distant fourth behind Shell V-Power Racing Team teammate Anton De Pasquale in the race.

With Chaz Mostert enduring a tough weekend, with finishes of 14th and ninth, Davison has demoted the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver in the points standings.

Sunday’s race was a brighter story for Davison, who saw a top five finish go begging a day earlier due to a fuel drop miscalculation.

“I had a good recovery today, and I’m glad to get out of here with a heap of points,” he said.

"It’s been a bit of a difficult weekend searching for balance in the car, and we’ve learnt a lot of important stuff for next weekend.”

Both Shell Fords lost ground in the opening stanza, with De Pasquale dropping to seventh and Davison ninth.

Davison made his first compulsory stop for tyre and fuel on lap 24, and was up to third ahead of De Pasquale after the first pit cycle.

The aggressive strategies seemed to have paid off, and De Pasquale cleared Davison through the middle stint.

De Pasquale retained his position and drove away, with Davison 17 seconds down the road by the end of the race.

"We went aggressive on strategy today, and it was a very tricky one to make work,” he said.

"But I put absolutely everything into the second stint and I was able to drive a really consistent, fast stint.

“I knew the second stint was crucial, and it was harder being on older tyres than everyone around me.

"But we got track position and I was able to use the clean air well. I grabbed fourth which was really good all things considered.

“We’ve got a lot to look at now and a lot to tidy up for next weekend.”