Motorsport: Davison battles pins and needles

Will Davison sits in sixth place with third-placed Winterbottom, Van Gisbergen and Tander above him but within sight. Photo / Edge Photographics

Ford star Will Davison says he has been driving for much of the V8 Supercar season with a "frightening" ailment which causes his leg to go numb.

Davison goes into this weekend's event at Sandown keen to nail down third place in the championship, with Holden duo Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes now the only drivers capable of winning the title with two rounds left.

Davison's effort in his first season with Ford Performance Racing is made more credible after his admission of suffering numbness in his right leg during races.

He believes a long-standing back problem combined with driving position is causing the issue which flares late in races - clearly a concern when negotiating pedals in a high-speed car.

"Pins and needles, then complete numbness. You could cut my leg off at the knee and I wouldn't feel it," Davison said.

"When it gets really bad that's horrendous, frightening actually. Some tracks it's no problem, some tracks it's really bad.

"This year ... something in the ergonomics of this car has been creating dramas in my right leg.

"I've had a lot of races this year where I shake my leg around trying to get some blood back into it."

After seemingly getting the problem under control, the numbness has re-emerged at the past three events at Bathurst, Gold Coast and Launceston.

But Davison took heart from a trouble-free run in the second race at Symmons Plains last weekend in which he managed a podium finish.

"I'm pretty confident it's not going to give me too much drama and I should be able to get through the [Sandown] races without too much of a problem," he said.

Davison sits sixth in the title race, with third-placed FPR teammate Mark Winterbottom, Ford's Shane Van Gisbergen and Holden's Garth Tander above him but within sight.

Davison needs big points' hauls at Sandown and the season-ending Telstra 500 in Sydney next month to reel them in.

Four practice sessions kick off Sandown today.

Qualifying and a 39-lap race will be held on Saturday, with a 65-lap race on Sunday.

- AAP