Waters smashes car in horror start to V8 season

Ford's Cam Waters has suffered a nightmare start to the new V8 Supercars season after losing a wheel in a massive crash in Friday's second practice for the Adelaide 500.

Waters came unstuck on the treacherous eighth turn in Adelaide - clipping the wall on the exit of the corner before careening into a wall on the other side of the track at speed.

The impact of the second collision was so powerful that the wheel on the Monster Energy Ford ripped away from the car - hanging by a thread as he finally came to a stop.

"Obviously it's pretty gutting to find the fence at (turn) eight in practice and give the guys so much work," Waters said afterwards.

"I didn’t really do much different going in, just got a little bit loose on the entry and got in the marbles, then it’s just sucked me into the fence. The hit itself wasn’t that hard, but it broke the steering and I was a passenger. It was the second hit that did the damage.

"So gutted for everyone. The car was feeling really good, hope it can be fixed in time for qualifying."

The crash left Waters' team with no time to repair the vehicle before Friday afternoon's qualifying, with team Tickford Racing team principal Tim Edwards suggesting Waters' team could be working late into the night.

"Effectively all four corners of the car had the suspension destroyed. All the pickup points are largely bent and damaged, so we've got to replace those. The transaxle's had a driveshaft punched into it. It's fairly extensive.

"If I was a betting man, I'd say by 10-11 o'clock tonight it'll look good from the grandstand."