Ekstrom tops practice

The Swede lapped his A4 early on in 1m33.846s, almost a second quicker than team-mate Tom Kristensen managed on Friday, and then topped it with 1m33.668s. Overnight rain had made the track 'green', but the previous F3 session, combined with the early coolness of the morning, meant conditions were perfect when he set his stunning time.

Gary Paffett came closest to Ekstrom, but his 1m34.284s was 0.6secs in arrears. Kristensen was third fastest, and at least set a fractionally quicker first sector than Ekstrom.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen appears much more at home than he did at Hockenheim, and he led the Opel charge in fourth, just ahead of fellow former F1 veteran Jean Alesi (Mercedes). Timo Scheider was sixth in his Opel, but spun near the end of the session.

Martin Tomczyk (Audi), Marcel Fassler (Opel), Christijan Albers (Mercedes) and Christian Abt (Audi) rounded out the top 10. Reigning champion Bernd Schneider was only 12th fastest, one spot behind 2002 champ Laurent Aiello. Opel's Peter Dumbreck was a lowly 16th, 1.8secs off the pace.

Mattias Ekstrom, Audi A4, 1m33.668s
Gary Paffett, Mercedes C-Class, 1m34.284s
Tom Kristensen, Audi A4, 1m34.373s
Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m34.467s
Jean Alesi, Mercedes C-Class, 1m34.695s
Timo Scheider, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m34.758s
Martin Tomczyk, Audi A4, 1m35.771s
Marcel Fassler, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m35.771s
Christijan Albers, Mercedes C-Class, 1m35.816s
Christian Abt, Audi A4, 1m35.952s