Erebus Celebrates First Dual Top 10 Finish
Will Davison and Lee Holdsworth created Erebus history yesterday, finishing sixth and 10th in a carnage-filled Race Four at Albert Park.
It was the first dual top 10 for the team, which made the transition from Stone Brothers Racing to Erebus last year, switching to run Mercedes-Benz AMG E63s.
After a tough run in qualifying on Thursday, Holdsworth and Davison turned things around in the final double points race by storming home from back in the field, successfully navigating a late-race multi-car incident.
Erebus Motorsport Team owner Betty Klimenko said the result was further proof the team was a genuine contender in the V8 Supercars Championship.
“It was an amazing result, I wasn’t even expecting it,’’ said Klimenko.
“The boys excelled, my heart went in my mouth and I got to the edge of my seat. The next thing I know, both of them were in the top 10 and I had goosebumps.
“I’m so proud of the boys, they really deserve it.
“We’ve gone individually higher before but for me, to have them both there in the top 10 – it says we’re here, we have the pace and this is where we belong.’’
Erebus CEO Ryan Maddison said the result was a just reward for the belief of the team during a development period of the past 12 months.
“To have two cars in the top 10 is reward for effort but probably the biggest thing is reward for the belief for these guys,’’ said Maddison.
“It’s obviously a game of attrition with the cars falling away around us. But for us to be able to run solid, compete for every position and go forward in the field is fantastic.
“It’s a good result for us, another positive step on behalf of the brand and there’s no doubt there’s more positive things to come. The team deserve it, the crowd loved it.’’
Davison’s sixth placing marked his best result for the Erebus team to accompany top 10 results at both Clipsal and earlier in the weekend at Albert Park. He also finished eighth in the overall MSS Security V8 Supercars Challenge event points, with Holdsworth 13th (click here for full event points).
Davison said it was exciting to see the team rewarded for their efforts given how much progress Erebus has made over the past 12 months.
“The thing that excites me about the team is to see how much these little steps and little goals mean. It really excites me to be a part of that so early in the year,’’ said Davison.
“We survived with a straight car and a good result. To see the pump-up it gave the team really means a lot to me and to see two cars in the top-10 for the first time shows we’re going in the right direction.
“We didn’t just pick up other people’s misfortunes, we actually had a really quick car, we just couldn’t use it back in the pack unfortunately.
“The chassis and the handling was really good, we’re still lacking in some areas that we know which is good to know what we need to fix to move further up the front.
“I really enjoyed the race. It’s good to survive crazy races with a straight car because you know the crowd has got their money’s worth. We put on a good show and we’re able to capitalise.’’
Inaugural driver Holdsworth said the team was now hitting milestones every week.
“We’ve certainly got the pace and if we improve in some of other areas and start up the front, there’s no doubt we’ll have a really good shot of getting some podiums and maybe even knock on the door of a race win.’’
Klimenko spoke to v8supercars.com.au over the weekend about her position as a woman in motorsport and Davison’s smooth transition into the team.
The V8 Supercars will next be on-track at the Tyrepower Tasmania 400 from March 28-30.
