Alexander Nicholas Davison (12 February 1923 – 20 February 1965) was a racing driver who won the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

four times between 1954 and

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

and won the

Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor ...

in 1957. He drove HWM-Jaguar, Ferrari,

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated ...

and

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ' ...

-Climax grand prix cars. Davison won Class A of the 1960 Armstrong 500, forerunner of the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most re ...

, driving an NSU Prinz. He competed at the

1961 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 29th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1961. It was also the 4th round of the 1961 World Sportscar Championship. Ferrari and Maserati were the main title contenders, with Porsche an outs ...

with Bib Stillwell in an Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato. Davison and Stillwell were invited to race for the Essex Racing Stable due to their involvement with Aston Martins in the Australian racing scene. Davison had finished second in the

1960 Australian Grand Prix The 1960 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Lowood in Queensland, Australia on 12 June 1960. The race, which was run to Formula Libre, had 16 starters. It was the twenty fifth Australian Grand Prix.''25th Australian G.P. at Lowood'', ...

and fourth in the Australian Gold Star Championship in an Aston Martin DBR4/300. Their Le Mans adventure ended prematurely when a blown head gasket saw them retire on lap 25. Davison won the GT support race at the 1961 British Grand Prix at

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It ...

driving an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. He finished sixth in the 1961 Guards Trophy driving an

Aston Martin DBR4/300 The Aston Martin DBR4/250, commonly referred to simply as the DBR4, is a Formula One racing car, designed by Ted Cutting for the sports car manufacturer Aston Martin. Following notable successes in sports car racing during the mid- to late-1950 ...

and placed tenth in the Intercontinental Championship. On 20 February 1965 Davison died in a crash during practice for the 1965 International 100 at Sandown International Raceway. While accelerating through the dog leg of the back straight in his 2.5L

Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won fo ...

Climax he suffered a heart attack. The car left the road at over 160 km/h, hit a culvert, somersaulted and crashed through a horse railing fence. Davison sustained severe head injuries and was dead when officials reached him. Davison was the husband of female racing driver

Diana Davison Diana Davison was one of the first lady racing car drivers in Australia. She was the wife of Lex Davison and after being widowed, to Tony Gaze. A trophy was named in her honour called the "Diana Davison/Gaze Trophy". She acted as timekeeper fo ...

and father of Australian racing drivers Jon Davison and Richard Davison and grandfather of

Alex Davison Alexander Davison (born 3 November 1979) is an Australian racing driver. He won the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship. As part of the Davison motorsport family, he is the older brother of Will Davison, grandson of Lex Davison and cousi ...

Will Davison William 'THE SOOK' Davison (born 30 August 1982) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.17 Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing in the Repco Supercars Championship. Davison is a two-time winner of the Bathu ...

and James Davison. Drivers who win the

are awarded the Lex Davison Trophy, so named to honour Davison who was the first 4-time winner of the event (the only other 4-time winner is 7-time

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

). This trophy, designed and made in Britain by Mr Rex Hays to the order of CAMS, incorporates a silver model of the

Austin 7 The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1923 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the "Baby Austin" and was at that time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market and sold well abroad ...

driven to victory in the first Australian Grand Prix in 1928.2010 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport - Australian Grand Prix
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Career results

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Lex 1923 births 1965 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Racing drivers from Melbourne Tasman Series drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers