» V8s: Davison flies in Sandown pre-season test

Will Davison has posted the fastest ever lap recorded in a touring car at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway at today’s Official V8 Supercar Test Day. The Ford Performance Racing driver took his #6 Trading Post entry around the circuit with a blistering time of 1:09.3230, more than three-tenths better than the previous lap record.

Davison finished the day’s running almost a quarter of a second faster than last year’s championship runner-up Craig Lowndes, with Lee Holdsworth, Todd Kelly and Jonathon Webb rounding out the top-five on the timesheets.

With the event marking the one and only opportunity for the 28-car field to size one another up ahead of the season-opening Clipsal 500 in early March, a sizeable crowd took advantage of free admission by visiting the circuit to check out the on-track action.

After a brief show hit the circuit in the morning, conditions generally improved before the clouds rolled back in to deposit another shower on the track at about 3:00pm. Conditions cleared again, and it was then that Davison posted his incredible effort in his Ford Falcon.

The event was also an important opportunity for newly-signed drivers to get more familiar with their new cars and team surroundings. Former Garry Rogers racer Lee Holdsworth showed that he has handled the switch to a Ford with great ease, finishing the day third-quickest with a fastest time that was also quicker than the track’s previous lap record.

Other newly-signed drivers who drove well included David Reynolds (seventh-fastest, Rod Nash Racing) and Steve Owen (tenth-fastest, Dick Johnson Racing), while Michael Patrizi made his return to the series, ending the day eleventh-quickest in his currently unsponsored Tekno Holden.

With the test session compulsory for all teams on the 2012 entry list, some outfits ran interim or plain livery schemes ahead of their official launch ceremonies. With Lucas Dumbrell Motorsports team still to officially announce its main driver, it secured Development Series driver Taz Douglas for the day, running a plain white livery on its Holden Commodore.

This year’s main driver line-up features at least two series debutants, and it was no great surprise to find them at the bottom of the timesheets while they feel their way in on their first outings. David Wall (Brad Jones Racing) finished the day 26th-fastest, while former DTM pilot Alexandre Prémat was slowest in his Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden.

V8 Supercars Sandown Pre-Season Test Session – Fastest Times:

	Driver	Entry / Team	Result	Laps
1.	Will Davison	Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing	1:09.3230	117
2.	Craig Lowndes	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	+ 0.2358	132
3.	Lee Holdsworth	Irwin Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	+ 0.2566	99
4.	Todd Kelly	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	+ 0.5004	79
5.	Jonathon Webb	Mother Energy Racing Team / Tekno	+ 0.5346	91
6.	Garth Tander	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	+ 0.6146	90
7.	David Reynolds	The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash	+ 0.6323	123
8.	Tim Slade	Lucky 7 Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	+ 0.6560	87
9.	Mark Winterbottom	Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing	+ 0.6641	123
10.	Steve Owen	VIP Petfoods / Dick Johnson Racing	+ 0.7275	60
11.	Michael Patrizi	Tekno	+ 0.7506	84
12.	James Moffat	Team Norton / Dick Johnson Racing	+ 0.8441	88
13.	Shane van Gisbergen	SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing	+ 0.8653	80
14.	Dean Fiore	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	+ 0.8677	76
15.	James Courtney	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	+ 0.8798	95
16.	Steven Johnson	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	+ 0.9296	58
17.	Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	+ 1.1441	69
18.	Michael Caruso	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	+ 1.2034	63
19.	Jason Bright	Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing	+ 1.2261	89
20.	Tony D’Alberto	Tony D’Alberto Racing	+ 1.2697	54
21.	Russell Ingall	Supercheap Auto / Walkinshaw Racing	+ 1.2707	98
22.	Taz Douglas	Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	+ 1.4139	127
23.	Rick Kelly	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	+ 1.5090	103
24.	Karl Reindler	Fair Dinkum Sheds / Kelly Racing	+ 1.5530	108
25.	Fabian Coulthard	Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing	+ 1.6629	122
26.	David Wall	Wilson Security / Brad Jones Racing	+ 1.7403	113
27.	Greg Murphy	Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing	+ 1.8434	109
28.	Alexandre Prémat	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	+ 2.1420	126