'Flying' session from Besnard.

He may have just stepped off a 15-hour long flight from Los Angeles, but WPS Racing's David Besnard was still able to put in a flying performance in the first practice session for the Sandown 500.

Besnard, who has been in the US testing for a one-off Champ Car drive at this year's Lexmark 300 Indy, touched down at Melbourne Airport at 7.35am.

After clearing customs half an hour later, he was ferried to a waiting helicopter owned by WPS Racing team owner Craig Gore, and arrived at Sandown just 75 minutes before the practice session.

He then turned in a stirring drive to finish just behind fellow Ford drivers Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall in third place.

"We got the timing right both on the track and with our flights," Besnard said. "I only managed about four or five hours sleep on the flight home because I was excited about our prospects in this race.

"By the time I arrived on track I was tired but once I got into the car the adrenalin kicked in and everything came together. The car felt the best it has all year. It came out of the trailer just right and we are now getting it close to where we want it to be."

Team mate Alex Yoong, making his V8 Supercar Championship Series debut, also put in a strong drive.

He finished the first practice session in 19th position and showed steady improvement throughout the 60-minute session.

"It was a pleasing performance and it was great to get the first drive under my belt," he said. "I can now build on that first performance and I'll just be looking for continual improvement across the weekend."