Jackson Davis, a rider we have wanted to chat to for a while, when Sam Hill says he has some of the best cornering skills he has seen you take notice! Even if Sam hadn’t of said anything we noticed Jackson’s silky smooth skills and good demeanor. So without further a do lets have a chat with another up and comer…
Name: Jackson Davis
Age: 19
Hometown:A�Perth, WA
Hey Jackson, thanks for chatting to us, straight up,A�what have you been up to over the past 6 months? We saw you in Indonesia, then a lot of National and Vic races, tell us about your travels:
Yeah I spent a little bit if time up in Indonesia about 6 months ago racing the Specialized Asia Pacific Downhill race, which was a good experience just being able to ride with a few World Cup racers and some local heroes.A�I ended up winning my category soA�I was pretty happy about that. After that well we had the national series, this year being my first full season and first year on the Swell-Specialized team, I was pretty happy with the season on a whole but I think I learnt a lot and I’m pretty keen to get back next year and give it a crack.
So you are back home in WA now:
Yeah back home now which has been good after my stint over east, had a few races since I’ve been back home and went quite well on a few of them but it’s just been good back riding some fresh loam haha.
Looking back at those races what were the goals you had set and what stood out as highlights:
Since I finished the national circuit I decided that I should probably start training hahah, so I have been doing a bit of work on a lead up to the Mont Saint Anne World Cup which ill be racing a little bit later on in the year so well see how we go there hahah. As for other races I’ve just tried to stay up with the top boys at home and stay on my bike unlike Mount Baw Baw which I would actually consider to be my biggest highlight of the season. (if you are wondering Jackson had an epic crash there but walked away)
What is it like for someone from WA to try and make it in the Australian downhill world, you guys are so far from all the races, even the nationals are just on the East coast:
Coming from WA is not the easiest for racing but we do produce good riders such as Sam HillA�for example but then we have Luke Ball and Mitch Bryant some guys you’ll be seeing on the circuit soon if not already!
Sounds good, how about the race tracks in WA, how do theyA�compare to everywhere else?
The tracks over here a pretty cool but there’s not much you can ride in comparison to places like Thredbo or Buller as we struggle to get a track over two minutes. The good thing about our tracks is there all built by the man rather than a machine so they ride pretty well but they don’t last long haha.
We saw you aboard a Specialized for the Swell team this year along with David McMillan, Rhys Atkinson, etc how did that all come about?
Sam helped me out a little on that one throwing my name forward and I ended up getting in contact with Matt O’Connor at nationals one year and then I flew over to Melbourne for a trade show and that’s when It came about really! I like to thank Matt, Dad and Sam for that one, it’s been a massive help and I’ve learnt a lot being on the team with the boys!
Your dad seems to be a pretty big supporter of yours, can you explain to everyone a bit further and how important it is for you?
Yeah dad’s the man aye he’s been the biggest help and gave me some mad support over the years! I’ve just recently left school and got a job to help fund some stuff but before that dad was running the show and I thank him for everything so far and everything to come!
Apart from your dad is there anyone else you would like to thank:
Specialized Australia,A�A�FJC clothing andA�Kabuto helmets.
Images: Sean Lee Photography.