Davidson remains on top in Australia
Anthony Davidson followed up his quickest lap in morning practice by topping the times in the afternoon on the opening day at the Australian Grand Prix
The British driver, who clocked his best lap late in the session, finished up fastest ahead of Alexander Wurz in a Williams and Robert Kubica in a BMW Sauber.
Fellow-Briton Jenson Button was fourth in his Honda ahead of defending champion Fernando Alonso in his Renault, with seven-times champion Michael Schumacher sixth for Ferrari.
If anything, the weather in the afternoon was cooler and cloudier than it had been in the morning, but with an air temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 25 degrees, it remained comfortable.
The early part of the session saw several drivers running off and recovering to return to the circuit, notably Yuji Ide in his Super Aguri, who went off at turns one and nine, the Clark and Brabham chicanes respectively.
He was followed by Briton David Coulthard in his Red Bull Ferrari, Vitantionio Liuzzi in a Toro Rosso and then Felipe Massa, in his Ferrari.
The crowd - the grandstands looked three-quarters full - enjoyed seeing not just some action, but also big name drivers out on the track.
Jacques Villeneuve, who had done so much to entertain the spectators in the morning, did the same in his BMW Sauber in the afternoon, running off and recovering at the first chicane.
On track, it was defending champion Alonso who led the way in his Renault, the Spaniard clocking an early fastest time and staying on top with a lap in 1:27.443.
The closest in pursuit were Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari and soon afterwards Button in his Honda, who clocked a lap in 1:27.213 to take over at the top after half an hour.
Eight minutes later, Button was outpaced by Williams third driver Alexander Wurz, who delivered a lap in 1:26.832 before Liuzzi lost control of his Toro Rosso Cosworth at the Walte Curve, having braked late and gone across a kerb.
The Italian's car crashed heavily into the trackside barrier, but he was not injured.
Wurz's time stood unchallenged for some time until Robert Kubica showed his pace, and both his and his BMW's potential, by moving up to second.
With five minutes remaining, Davidson followed up his fastest time in the morning session with another quick lap to take over at the top of the time sheets in one minute and 26.822 seconds in his Honda.
Alonso then did a late lap, during which he went close to losing control briefly at turn 12, and Christijan Albers, in his Midland Toyota, went off heavily at turn five.
Button, pushing in the final seconds, skidded off and on to the grass, but regained control to complete his lap without disturbing the order.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Davidson Honda (M) 1:26.822 28 2. Wurz Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:26.832 + 0.010 27 3. Kubica BMW-Sauber (M) 1:27.200 + 0.378 25 4. Button Honda (M) 1:27.213 + 0.391 12 5. Alonso Renault (M) 1:27.443 + 0.621 14 6. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:27.658 + 0.836 16 7. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:27.773 + 0.951 16 8. Barrichello Honda (M) 1:28.075 + 1.253 20 9. Montoya McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:28.200 + 1.378 15 10. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:28.227 + 1.405 17 11. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:28.280 + 1.458 11 12. Villeneuve BMW-Sauber (M) 1:28.440 + 1.618 22 13. Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:28.531 + 1.709 18 14. Webber Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:28.860 + 2.038 10 15. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (M) 1:29.053 + 2.231 5 16. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:29.138 + 2.316 20 17. Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:29.196 + 2.374 18 18. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:29.379 + 2.557 16 19. Monteiro MF1-Toyota (B) 1:29.713 + 2.891 21 20. Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:29.876 + 3.054 32 21. Klien Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:29.879 + 3.057 9 22. Rosberg Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:29.933 + 3.111 11 23. Jani Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:30.686 + 3.864 26 24. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:30.734 + 3.912 14 25. Albers MF1-Toyota (B) 1:30.830 + 4.008 18 26. Winkelhock MF1-Toyota (B) 1:31.260 + 4.438 25 27. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:32.556 + 5.734 27 28. Ide Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:34.224 + 7.402 22 All timing unofficial
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