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McNish Audi sets Silverstone pace

Allan McNish and Audi set the pace in the first free practice session for the AUTOSPORT 1000km at Silverstone on Friday

In an odd session that was interrupted by a safety car test just as a brief but sensibly-sized rain shower soaked the track halfway through, the #7 Audi TDI R15 set the pace throughout, with Tom Kristensen leading the way in the rain too.

But McNish was quickest early-on when the track was at its driest, when it counted.

It was only in the last ten minutes of the session - which was delayed by a brief red flag for to recover the Hope Polevision Oreca from a spin - that teams began experimenting with drys and intermediates again as the track dried out again.

It was in that period that Anthony Davidson secured the second fastest time with a 1m46.698s - some four tenths behind his fellow Briton, in the fastest of the Peugeots.

Neel Jani was an impressive third fastest in the Rebellion Lola, which revels in such conditions because of its ability to garner heat in its tyres, ahead of Nicolas Lapierre in the Oreca Peugeot.

Le Mans-winner Timo Bernhard joins Dindo Capello in the #8 Audi, which was fifth fastest ahead of Jean-Christophe Boullion in the second Rebellion Lola.

The #009 and #007 Aston Martins were seventh and eight fastest, just in front of the giant-killing LMP2 Strakka Acura which was ninth, and quickest in class.

The Larbre Competition Saleen was the only GT1 runner, while Richard Westbrook and Marco Holzer's Prospeed Porsche headed the GT2 battle.


Pos  Cl   Drivers                         Car                Time
 1.  P1   Kristensen/McNish               Audi               1m46.259s +
 2.  P1   Davidson/Minassian              Peugeot            1m46.698s +  0.439s
 3.  P1   Prost/Jani                      Lola-Rebellion     1m46.926s +  0.667s
 4.  P1   Lapierre/Sarrazin               Peugeot            1m46.976s +  0.717s
 5.  P1   Bernhard/Capello                Audi               1m48.732s +  2.473s
 6.  P1   Belicchi/Boullion               Lola-Rebellion     1m49.094s +  2.835s
 7.  P1   Barazi/Hancock/Mucke            Aston Martin       1m49.107s +  2.848s
 8.  P1   Fernandez/Primat/Meyrick        Aston Martin       1m49.237s +  2.978s
 9.  P2   Leventis/Watts/Kane             HPD                1m49.525s +  3.266s
10.  P1   Ragues/Mailleux/Ickx            Lola Aston Martin  1m50.663s +  4.404s
11.  P1   Mansell/Mansell                 Ginetta-Zytek      1m51.009s +  4.750s
12.  P2   Moreau/Hein                     Pescarolo-Judd     1m51.445s +  5.186s
13.  P2   Ojjeh/Greaves/Ebbesvik          Ginetta-Zytek      1m52.314s +  6.055s
14.  P2   Erdos/Newton/Collins            Lola-HPD           1m53.092s +  6.833s
15.  P2   Amaral/Pla                      Ginetta-Zytek      1m53.823s +  7.564s
16.  P2   Lahaye/Nicolet                  Pescarolo-Judd     1m54.538s +  8.279s
17.  P1   Burgess/Mowlem/McMurry          Ginetta-Zytek      1m54.645s +  8.386s
18.  P2   Pirri/Cioci/Perazzini           Lola-Judd          1m55.961s +  9.702s
19.  P1   Drayson/Cocker                  Lola-Judd          1m57.480s + 11.221s
20.  P2   Case/Babini/Leo                 Lola-Judd          1m58.256s + 11.997s
21.  P2   Gates/Garofall/Phillips         MG Lola-AER        1m58.839s + 12.580s
22.  FLM  Pillon/Verdonck/Hollings        FLM ORECA          2m00.566s + 14.307s
23.  P2   Frey/Rostan/Bruneau             Radical-Judd       2m00.740s + 14.481s
24.  FLM  Kraihamer/De Crem/Delhez        FLM ORECA          2m01.193s + 14.934s
25.  FLM  Firth/Hughes                    FLM ORECA          2m01.274s + 15.015s
26.  P2   de Pourtales/Ordonez/Kennard    Lola-Judd          2m02.735s + 16.476s
27.  FLM  Zacchia/Lombard/Moro            FLM ORECA          2m03.132s + 16.873s
28.  GT1  Gardel/Goueslard/Rees           Saleen             2m03.749s + 17.490s
29.  GT2  Westbrook/Holzer                Porsche            2m04.431s + 18.172s
30.  P2   Schell/Da Rocha                 Courage-ORECA      2m04.627s + 18.368s
31.  GT2  Muller/Werner                   BMW                2m04.788s + 18.529s
32.  GT2  Ragginger/Ried/Dumas            Porsche            2m05.141s + 18.882s
33.  GT2  Lieb/Lietz                      Porsche            2m05.313s + 19.054s
34.  GT2  Pilet/Narac                     Porsche            2m05.545s + 19.286s
35.  GT2  Bell/Turner                     Aston Martin       2m05.828s + 19.569s
36.  GT2  Alesi/Fisichella/Vilander       Ferrari            2m05.971s + 19.712s
37.  FLM  Barlesi/Cicognani/Chalandon     FLM ORECA          2m06.079s + 19.820s
38.  GT2  Kirkaldy/Mullen                 Ferrari            2m06.161s + 19.902s
39.  GT2  Bruni/Melo                      Ferrari            2m06.303s + 20.044s
40.  GT2  Companc/Russo                   Ferrari            2m06.532s + 20.273s
41.  GT2  Ehret/Quaife/Kaffer             Ferrari            2m07.018s + 20.759s
42.  GT2  Dumbreck/Coronel                Spyker             2m07.079s + 20.820s
43.  GT2  Farnbacher/Simonsen             Ferrari            2m07.345s + 21.086s
44.  FLM  Kutemann/Basso/Hartshorne       FLM ORECA          2m09.320s + 23.061s
45.  GT2  Giroix/Goethe                   Lamborghini        2m34.401s + 48.142s

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