WHEN it came to a co-driver seat for this year's Bathurst 1000 Will Davison had a number of options, but in the end the chance to join "a brutal little competitor" at the Mount was the one he could not refuse.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That brutal competitor is Tickford Racing's Cameron Waters.
At the start of 2020 Davison, just like Waters, was one of the full-time drivers racing under the Tickford banner.
But when the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to Davison losing that seat, he became hot property on the co-driver market.
It meant Davison would still get to compete in the Bathurst 1000, albeit it not in the role he'd initially envisaged, and he wanted to make sure he'd give himself the best chance of winning.
That meant pairing with Waters.
"Obviously it was a tough time and I had a lot to deal with, but I knew once the dust settled I could focus on getting myself the best co-drive I possibly could," he said.
"I don't want to sound cocky by saying I had a lot of options, that's just the way things were. I was a full-time driver, nobody thought I'd be available and I still feel very competitive. I knew I fitted a lot of people's wish list and it was nice to feel that.
"It's really cool to be driving with Cam. I worked with Cam last year as we were obviously team-mates within the Tickford fold and again at the start of this year."
Waters is currently sitting third in the Supercars championship and while he's not yet stood on the podium at Mount Panorama, two-time Great Race winner Davison knows he certainly has the potential to do so.
"He's been robbed the last three years there, he's had a terrible run. He's always been in good positions," Davison said.
"He's a brutal little competitor, he's a competitive guy and he's really come of age. I'm really impressed by the way he's developed.
"He's always shown great speed but he's certainly developed and is tidying up a few of his rough edges so to speak and he's turning into a full on little championship contending race driver.
"He's competitive with some good form and momentum at the moment. He's very relaxed and I'll do what they ask of me as his co-driver, it should be a good partnership."
