Paffett tops free practice
AMG Mercedes newcomer Gary Paffett began to justify his promotion to the Three-pointed star's top team by heading the final free practice session at Hockenheim before this afternoon's qualifying session
Paffett lapped his Mercedes C-Class in 1m34.907s, two-tenths slower than team-mate Jean Alesi managed yesterday, but 0.011s quicker than the Frenchman this morning. Mattias Ekstrom spearheaded the Audi challenge, just clear of the second Red Bull-branded A4 of team-mate Martin Tomczyk.
Reigning champion Bernd Schneider upped his game after an ominously quiet start to the weekend, the German just a couple of tenths off the pace this time, but expect much more this afternoon.
Tom Kristensen (Audi), Christijan Albers (Mercedes), Timo Scheider (Opel) and Manuel Reuter (Opel) were next up, while Frank Biela crept into the top 10 for the first time this weekend, demoting Opel's Peter Dumbreck to 11th.
Former F1 star Heinz-Harald Frentzen was 12th as Opel continues to find it hard to get to grips with the competition from Audi and Mercedes.
Gary Paffett, Mercedes C-Class, 1m34.907s
Jean Alesi, Mercedes C-Class, 1m34.918s
Mattias Ekstrom, Audi A4, 1m35.041s
Martin Tomczyk, Audi A4, 1m36.071s
Bernd Schneider, Mercedes C-Class, 1m35.159s
Tom Kristensen, Audi A4, 1m35.164s
Christijan Albers, Mercedes C-Class, 1m35.168s
Timo Scheider, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m35.653s
Manuel Reuter, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m35.740s
Frank Biela, Audi A4, 1m35.750s
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