Frenzten Fastest at Spa Test

Frentzen, who was fastest over four days at the recent Mugello test, was clearly enjoying his driving at what is effective his home circuit just across the border from Moenchengladbach, bringing home a quickest lap so far of just 2 minutes 14.312 seconds.

The pleasant, sunny conditions of the first day didn't hold into the second day, where rain hampered the teams' preparations for the season opener at Hockenheim.

Frentzen's former Formula One sparring partner Jean Alesi had a mostly trouble free two days, running second and first of the Mercedes drivers consecutively despite visiting the track for the first time in three years.

Alesi's new teammate Jamie Green was pleased with his work, noting that the circuit "represents a true challenge for every driver, and I'm satisfied with what we achieved to day."

Audi brought their new A4 challenger to the track for its first public appearance, although the lap times were probably less impressive than the team were looking for. Martin Tomczyk, however, put a brave face on it, noting: "We have executed all the tasks we had planned to do.

"We don't bother with the lap times here, but the car has run without experiencing any problems whatsoever. Everything is going according to plan, and I'm looking forward to the new Audi A4 DTM's first race, at the Hockenheimring."

The test continues for a further two days ahead of the season launch in Hamburg on April 5.

DTM Spa Francorchamps Test - Day One:

Pos Driver                 Make                   Time      Laps

1. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m14.312 26 2. Jamie Green AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m14.701 36 3. Jean Alesi AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m14.721 77 4. Stefan Mücke AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m15.148 51 5. Christian Abt Audi A4 DTM 2m15.217 50 6. Frank Stippler Audi A4 DTM 2m15.329 53 7. Allan McNish Audi A4 DTM 2m15.357 74 8. Laurent Aiello Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m15.378 28 9. Bernd Schneider AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m15.454 41 10. Bruno Spengler AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m15.522 67 11. Marcel Fässler Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m15.585 60 12. Manuel Reuter Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m16.617 45 13. Tom Kristensen Audi A4 DTM 2m17.720 10 14. Pierre Kaffer Audi A4 DTM 2m18.013 15 15. Martin Tomczyk Audi A4 DTM 2m19.371 38 Day Two: Pos Driver Make Time Laps 1. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m29.403 57 2. Jean Alesi AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m30.242 50 3. Marcel Fässler Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m30.447 67 4. Laurent Aiello Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m30.450 40 5. Jamie Green AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m30.916 50 6. Bernd Schneider AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m30.928 59 7. Bruno Spengler AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m31.093 49 8. Manuel Reuter Opel Vectra GTS V8 2m31.135 54 9. Alex Margaritis AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2m31.470 62 10. Christian Abt Audi A4 DTM 2m32.206 27 11. Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 DTM 2m32.919 22 12. Pierre Kaffer Audi A4 DTM 2m33.168 18 13. Martin Tomczyk Audi A4 DTM 2m36.987 31 14. Frank Stippler Audi A4 DTM 2m48.410 4