Despite sitting fifth in the standings after the season-opening round from Adelaide, two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Will Davison will not be on the grid in the #23 Mustang once the Supercars championship returns to the track in June.
Davison was left side-lined when 23Red Racing announced the closure of its Supercars operations due to a fallout with primary sponsor Milwaukee earlier in the week.
It now leaves Tickford without a pilot for its fourth Mustang, though the Melbourne-based squad have declared their intentions to see out the championship with all four cars running.
Thus, recent free agent James Courtney is primed to return to the Blue Oval for the first time in a decade.
For Davison, the 37-year-old admits it is heart-breaking to learn that the grid will be absent of the #23 Mustang once racing resumes.
“It’s pretty hard to still get my head around with the announcement today that we’re going racing again, that I won’t be on the grid with the #23 Milwaukee Racing car,” he told Supercars.com.
“I have really loved my time with Phil [Munday, 23Red owner] and the team.
“We built up such a great package going into this year and I just was so pumped in the off-season and the crew I’ve got and my engineer Brendan [Hogan] that we had put together on our car, it really reinvigorated me and we came out of the gate guns blazing.
“It’s a cutthroat industry that we race in and that we love but it’s times like these where it has really given me that time to reflect on how amazing our fans are and our sport is, I really appreciate it.”
Nevertheless, Davison says he is committed to seeking for a return for path back into the sport in the near future, believing his potential has not yet reached its climax and he still has plenty of talent left on the table.
“I still feel like I’ve got a lot to offer.
“I honestly feel like at this stage in my career, I feel like I’m driving really well, I feel like I have got a lot of experience behind me and a good perspective on the way that everything works.
“So my aim is to be back and racing with you all soon.”
A revised Supercars championship calendar sees the series resume its season on June 27-28 from Sydney Motorsport Park.
A replacement for Davison and 23Red Racing is expected to be decided before racing restarts.
Source: Supercars.com