Besnard crashes Coulthard Commodore in Practice 2

Practice 2 for the V8 Supercars at the Dick Smith Sandown 500 has seen David Besnard suffer a heavy crash in Fabian Coulthard’s Brad Jones Racing Holden.

The Queenslander ran off the road at the high-speed Turn 6 before making contact with the outside wall. The track had been drying at the time of the incident following an earlier shower.

While Besnard was able to walk away from the incident, the session was stopped for almost 10 minutes while marshalls recovered the stricken car.

The 40 minute session, for co-drivers only, resumed with just three minutes remaining.

Paul Dumbrell was one of several drivers able to complete two flying laps after the resumption, knocking previous fast-man Cameron McConville from the top of the times with his second effort.

McConville’s earlier lap was good enough for second fastest ahead of Dean Canto, Andrew Thompson, Steven Richards, Warren Luff, Christian Klien, Scott McLaughlin, Greg Ritter and Alex Davison.

Dumbrell and Luff had set the early pace in their respective TeamVodafone Holdens before threatening skies delivered a significant shower shortly after the 10 minute mark, sending the entire filed scurrying to pitlane.

With the track not soaked enough for full wets, drivers soon began returning to the circuit to explore the ever-improving grip level.

McConville finally bested Dumbrell’s early effort at the 27 minute mark – a feat that was immediately followed by Besnard’s crash.

More than half of the field were then able to improve their times during the frantic final three minutes as the track returned to its best.

The third and final practice session of the day will take place at 1400 local time.

See below for the full Practice 2 result

See below for Speedcafe.com’s Sandown 500 Race Guide