It’s an honour to win one Western Australian Limited Sprintcar Title let alone six, which is how many state title crowns Gavin Davis has now banked during his career, following his victory in last Saturday night’s running of the event at Narrogin Speedway.
A stalwart of the class, Davis has been one of the constants in Limited Sprintcars for well over three decades, participating in every single WA Title since the inception of the event some 35 seasons ago.
Having previously driven to victory in five past title events, it had been almost a decade since the 56-year-old veteran driver had taken top honours, and while he hadn’t experienced the best lead-up to the event, with his past couple of seasons being plagued with engine woes, the time was ripe last Saturday night for Davis to bounce back to form and return to victory lane.
Davis is also one of only a handful of Limited Sprintcar drivers who have been able to win multiple WA Titles.
“The WA Title is an extremely tough event to win, so I feel quite honoured to have been able to win six of them throughout my career, all of which have been special in their own way,” explained Davis, who builds his own engines and also runs selected 360 Sprintcar race meetings.
Lining up eighth for the 30-lap feature race following a pair of thirds and a fifth-place finish in his heat races, Davis made the most of start, wasting no time in elevating himself to fourth place in the opening couple of laps, before moving into podium contention on lap eight when he took over the third spot.
It was on lap 12 that a shakeup occurred, with the two race leaders coming together heavily while attempting to navigate lapped traffic, causing debris to be sent directly into the path of Davis who was unable to avoid it, with a wheel bouncing up right in front of him, bending his front and top wings.
With Lady Luck smiling down on him, Davis was thankfully able to continue despite the damage, inheriting the lead and keeping a tight line to hold on to it throughout the remaining distance, ultimately cinching the sixth WA Title victory of his career.
“I absolutely love racing in the Limited Sprintcars class, which is why I’ve been doing it for so long,” added Davis.
“In saying that, most of my success is owed to the fact that I’ve had an incredible support network around me throughout my entire career. A driver is only as good as the team around them and I’m very grateful for the continued help and support I’ve received both in the shed and at the track over the years.”
Based in Bunbury, the Davis surname is synonymous with speedway racing throughout Western Australia, with Davis’ dad Geoff racing Super Modifieds throughout 1970s, while his older brother Tim currently competes in 360 and Limited Sprintcars and his younger brother Todd races 410, 360 and Limited Sprintcars.
Getting his own speedway career underway 37 years ago, Gavin initially followed in his dad’s footsteps, joining the Super Modifieds class in the early 1980s, before becoming one of the original members of the Limited Sprintcar club in 1984.
While he’d previously placed second in multiple WA Titles, it wasn’t until 1998 that Davis initially broke through to win his maiden title at Carnarvon Speedway, going on to win five more titles in 1999, 2001, 2005, 2010 and most recently last Saturday night.
Davis would like to thank the following 2018-19 season sponsors for their continued support: Martin Engineering, McRae Displays, J&J Fabrications, Australind Panel & Paint, and SJ Crushing.
Special thanks go to Barry and Erica Davis, Chris Dawe, John Robinson, Davis’ wife Jenny, his brothers Tim and Todd, along with Tim’s wife Diane, his mum and dad Maxine and Geoff, and Steve and Janette Crabbe.
