Test 2: Bernd rams advantage home
No-one was able to match Bernd Schneider's time from this morning's test session at Donington Park - except, of course, Bernd himself, who lopped another two-tenths from his time in the second 90-minute session
After sitting in the garage for 45 minutes, Schneider then lapped the Derbyshire parkland venue in 1m29.802s, three tenths clear of AMG Mercedes CLK team-mate Uwe Alzen. The AMG Mercs ran another variation on the 'winglet', this time featuring an extended gurney flap which is bound to be cause for discussion this weekend. Watch this space...
Opel showed it has a fighting chance this weekend, with Manuel Reuter third fastest, ahead of former F1 star Jean Alesi (Mercedes), who sorted out his handling problems from the morning and ended the session fourth quickest. Timo Scheider and Alain Menu backed up Opel's hopes in fifth and sixth, although the latter suffered two spins in quick succession which suggested a major mechanical problem.
The top Audi was that of young Swede Mattias Ekstrom in ninth, while series leader Laurent Aiello could only manage the 11th fastest time. To make matters worse, Abt's ex-F1 racer Karl Wendlinger set the slowest time of the day.
Also struggling was Britain's Peter Dumbreck, who continues to battle with handling problems on his year-old Mercedes CLK. The Scot was 15th fastest.
There is a further hour of free practice on Saturday morning at 9.00.
Bernd Schneider (D) AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m29.802s
Uwe Alzen (D) AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m30.104s
Manuel Reuter (D) Phoenix Opel Astra V8 Coupe, 1m30.460s
Jean Alesi (F) AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m30.492s
Timo Scheider (D) Holzer Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m30.506s
Alain Menu (CH) Euroteam Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m30.557s
Marcel Fässler (CH) AMG Mercedes-Bend CLK, 1m30.563s
Joachim Winkelhock (D) Phoenix Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m30.683s
Mattias Ekström (S) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m30.727s
Michael Bartels (D) Holzer Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m30.767s
Laurent Aiello (F) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m30.811s
Patrick Huisman (NL) Manthey Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m31.167s
Thomas Jäger (D) Persson Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m31.172s
Martin Tomczyk (D) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m31.184s
Peter Dumbreck (GB) Persson Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m31.243s
Christijan Albers (NL) Rosberg Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m31.423s
Christian Abt (F) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m31.440s
Stefan Mücke (D) Rosberg Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m31.547s
Bernd Maylander (D) Manthey Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m31.633s
Yves Olivier (B) Eutoteam Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m31.865s
Karl Wendlinger (A) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m31.983s
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