Ekstrom tops Schneider

Audi's Mattias Ekstrom, the current form man of the DTM after his Adria race win, led the way by lapping the track in 1m37.783s, lopping an amazing 1.7secs off Friday's fastest time as the teams geared up for qualifying.

Yesterday's pace setter Bernd Schneider of Mercedes was second fastest, the AMG works team running wheel air deflectors in an effort to generate heat into the rear tyres. The reigning champion was almost four-tenths down on Ekstrom's time, however.

Opel's Peter Dumbreck was third fastest. The Scot was runner-up here and has been on the pace all weekend after a difficult start to the season. His 1m38.4secs was six-tenths off that of Ekstrom.

Martin Tomczyk was fourth fastest in his Audi, the German just ahead of Mercedes youngsters Christijan Albers, the series leader, and Gary Paffett. Manuel Reuter (Opel), Jean Alesi (Mercedes), Timo Scheider (Opel) and Marcel Fassler (Opel) rounded out the top 10.

Mattias Ekstrom, Audi A4, 1m37.783s
Bernd Schneider, Mercedes C-Class, 1m38.163s
Peter Dumbreck, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m38.417s
Martin Tomczyk, Audi A4, 1m38.531s
Christijan Albers, Mercedes C-Class, 1m38.597s
Gary Paffett, Mercedes C-Class, 1m38.708s
Manuel Reuter, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m38.722s
Jean Alesi, Mercedes C-Class, 1m38.741s
Timo Scheider, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m38.878s
Marcel Fassler, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m38.881s