WILL Davison has raced a host of different cars around Mount Panorama during his driving career, but the chance to tackle this year's Bathurst 1000 behind the wheel of an 'icon machine' brings with it an extra sense of pride.
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Davison will steer one of the six Ford Mustangs in the 26-car field for this year's Bathurst 1000. It will be the first appearance of the pony badge in the Great Race since 1986 when Dick Johnston and Gregg Hansford steered theirs to fourth place.
Since replacing the Falcon FG Xs for the 2019 Supercars season, Mustangs have dominated. A car with the renowned pony badge has claimed the chequered flag in 20 of the 24 races contested thus far.
Though none of those wins have belonged to the 23Red Racing entry of Davison - his best results being a pair of seconds - he is certainly enjoying the experience.
"The Mustang looks great, it's great Ford is heavily involved and we're very proud to represent that car and bring it to every race track - you want to see it on the podium and up the front because it's an icon machine," Davison said.
"We feel that pressure, but we're proud to race it ... I'm pumped for every race, let alone racing it at Bathurst."
After finishing 15th in the championship as a single-car team last year, Davison's outfit now races under the Tickford umbrella. He acknowledges that, coupled with the Mustang switch, has led to significant improvements.
"The Mustang is pretty cool to have in the category, it's really what's underneath that's important in our category right now, so it's hard for me to pin-point what's Mustang and what's all the other changes we've had this year," Davison, who is ninth in the championship, said.
"The components we've got in the car, the dampers, the engine. Obviously the Mustang aero package was a nice addition as well this year and we've certainly got a much, much stronger package than I had this time 12 months ago."