Schneider back on form

After Adria winner Mattias Ekstrom topped the morning session with a lap of 1m39.687s, Schneider lowered the bar to 1m39.474s in the afternoon, just 0.025s quicker than Dumbreck. It's worth remembering that Schneider and Dumbreck finished first and second here last year, and they look set to renew their battle this time around too.

"I'm very satisfied with the balance of the car," said Schneider. "Of course, I'm hoping that the rest of the weekend continues like this."

Dumbreck said: "Although it's only a test, we've got a basis on which we can continue working. I've always performed well at the Lausitzring, and this trend is continuing."

Making it a great day for the British drivers in the series, Gary Paffett was third fastest for Mercedes, ahead of the Opels of Laurent Aiello and Timo Scheider. Jean Alesi was sixth fastest in the afternoon in his Merc, two-tenths clear of Ekstrom. The Swede's morning time put him fourth overall, however.

Languishing off the pace, however, is championship leader Christijan Albers. The Dutchman's Mercedes was only 11th fastest in both sessions.

Bernd Schneider, Mercedes C-Class, 1m39.474s
Peter Dumbreck, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m39.499s
Gary Paffett, Mercedes C-Class, 1m39.620s
Mattias Ekstrom, Audi A4, 1m39.687s
Laurent Aiello, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m39.705s
Timo Scheider, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m39.752s
Jean Alesi, Mercedes C-Class, 1m39.810s
Marcel Fassler, Opel Vectra GTS, 1m40.140s
Martin Tomczyk, Audi A4, 1m40.153s
Tom Kristensen, Audi A4, 1m40.166s