Highly successful Firestone Indy Lights driver James Davison (pictured at left with fellow Aussie IndyCar driver Will Power and cousin Will Davison) will make the big step up the Indycar development ladder when he debuts in the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Indycar at the Honda Indy 200 round #14 of the IZOD Indycar Championship next week.
Davison, a native of Melbourne, Australia, comes to Indycar after competing in Firestone Indy Lights in 2008 and 2009. After racing in various sports cars series since 2010, the 26 year-old returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a track upon which he won races before.
"It's an incredible feeling to finally realize my dream of becoming an Indycar driver after four years of adversity on the sidelines. I've had to work overtime for this opportunity and can't thank Dale Coyne and all my supporters enough for their continued faith in me,” gleamed the personable Aussie. “There will no doubt be a lot to learn however this is the challenge of racing some of the best drivers and teams in the world in Indycar. I'll be pushing to achieve the best possible result in my rookie race."
While being away for open wheel cars for a few years, Davison's accomplishments are many. He won the 2008 and 2009 rounds of the Indy Lights races at Mid-Ohio against a formidable field. Those races were won against such current Indycar drivers like James Hinchcliffe, JR Hildebrand, Sebastian Saavedra and others.
Davison’s background is rooted in Australia with his famous racing family. Racers all, included his father Jon in Formula 5000 and his grandfather Lex, a 4-time winner of the Australian Grand Prix and cousin’s Alex and Will, current V8 Supercar drivers.
Davison began his career in 2004, when he ran Australian Formula Fords. He came to America in 2005 and began climbing the ladder system of open wheel cars. Davison ran Formula BMW, Star Mazda, Formula Atlantic and Indy Lights all in progression to get to this point.
“James has worked hard to stay in front of the teams in Indycar,” commented Team Owner Dale Coyne. “We gave him a test at Mid-Ohio about a month ago, and he showed great promise and poise after being out of an open wheel car for some time. The time is now for him to make the next step and we are happy to be working with James for his IndyCar debut.”
The team took part in a manufacturers test on June 25th, where Davison ran flawlessly within a second of seasoned team mate Justin Wilson. Now the team prepares for next week’s open test on July 31st in preparation for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on August 4th.
Photo by Marshall Pruett
