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Stippler leads Audi charge

Audi led the way at a soaking wet Barcelona in Spain on Saturday morning, as Germany's Frank Stippler topped the times after an hour of free practice

Normally with a wet session like this, the drivers would sit it out in the garages. But with the championship fight between Mercedes' Bernd Schneider and Bruno Spengler - and the lone Audi of Tom Kristensen - approaching its climax, every second of track time is proving crucial.

The little-used short circuit is being employed this weekend, which turns sharp right after the pit lane exit and rejoins the Grand Prix track just before the left-hander that leads up the hill towards the ultra-quick Campsa right-hander.

Stippler lapped in 1:14.266s right at the end of Saturday morning's session in his year-old A4, a fraction clear of fellow Audi drivers Mattias Ekstrom and Heinz-Harald Frentzen (who suffered a trip into the gravel at Turn 1). The top Mercedes was Spengler in fourth, lapping just quicker than title rival Schneider.

Kristensen could only manage eighth fastest time, half a second slower than Stippler's best.

This followed a mixed bag of conditions on Friday, when Schneider led a Merc 1-2-3 when the track finally dried. The weather forecast remains mixed, so qualifying this afternoon promises to be an unpredictable affair.

Pos  Driver                 Car                    Time
 1.  Frank Stippler         Audi A4                1:14.266
 2.  Mattias Ekstrom        Audi A4                1:14.361 + 0.095
 3.  Heinz-Harald Frentzen  Audi A4                1:14.488 + 0.222
 4.  Bruno Spengler         AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:14.569 + 0.303
 5.  Bernd Schneider        AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:14.632 + 0.366
 6.  Martin Tomczyk         Audi A4                1:14.632 + 0.366
 7.  Jean Alesi             AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:14.699 + 0.433
 8.  Tom Kristensen         Audi A4                1:14.714 + 0.448
 9.  Mika Hakkinen          AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:14.721 + 0.455
10.  Timo Scheider          Audi A4                1:14.740 + 0.474
11.  Alexandros Margaritis  AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:14.772 + 0.506
12.  Nicolas Kiesa          Audi A4                1:15.010 + 0.744
13.  Mathias Lauda          AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:15.024 + 0.758
14.  Pierre Kaffer          Audi A4                1:15.037 + 0.771
15.  Jamie Green            AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:15.299 + 1.033
16.  Vanina Ickx            Audi A4                1:15.427 + 1.161
17.  Daniel La Rosa         AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:15.564 + 1.298
18.  Susie Stoddart         AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:15.575 + 1.309
19.  Christian Abt          Audi A4                1:15.730 + 1.464
20.  Stefan Mucke           AMG Mercedes C-Klasse  1:15.833 + 1.567

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