Audi had the upper hand over Mercedes in the three-day test DTM at Oschersleben this week, filling four of the top five places.
Timo Scheider set the quickest time in the final test before the season begins at Hockenheim next weekend. The German was the only driver to break into the 1:21s and finished nearly half a second clear of teammate Markus Winkelhock who was second fastest.
Scheider set his best time on the second morning and nobody was able to beat it in the afternoon session or on the final day of running. But he did not want to read too much into times in the testing.
"Obviously you realise the lap times aren't of any significance while testing, apart from making me and my little boys feel good," he said.
"The situation is close, even within our team, so we will have to wait until the Saturday of the Hockenheim weekend to get the first hint of the true balance of power."
Tom Kristensen was one of several drivers to experience the 2008-spec machinery for the first time, and was pleased with the development from last year's Audi A4.
"It was the first time that I had the opportunity to drive my new car and I realised as early as the first laps that there is a big difference between this year's car and its predecessor," he said.
"We tested different setups and the car responded very well to the changes - that's what testing is about."
Reigning champion Mattias Ekstrom finished the test fourth overall, after going quickest but also crashing heavily on the first day.
The Swede suffered a brake failure at the end of the pit straight and ploughed into the barriers at turn one. He suffered a mild concussion, while the car was too badly damaged to be repaired at the circuit and was taken back to the team's base at Ingolstadt.
Bruno Spengler was the only Mercedes representative in the top five, with Britons Paul Di Resta and Jamie Green finishing sixth and seventh overall.
Ralf Schumacher ended the test in 16th place, 1.5 seconds slower than the quickest Mercedes, but around the same pace as fellow rookie Maro Engel, who was frustrated to lose a day of running when a steering failure for Schumacher prevented him from getting on track until the last half hour of the second day.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Timo Scheider Audi A4 DTM 1:21.644 139
2. Markus Winkelhock Audi A4 DTM 1:22.000 126
3. Bruno Spengler AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:22.162 168
4. Mattias Ekstrom Audi A4 DTM 1:22.297 128
5. Mike Rockenfeller Audi A4 DTM 1:22.305 258
6. Paul Di Resta AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:22.330 210
7. Jamie Green AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:22.341 200
8. Oliver Jarvis Audi A4 DTM 1:22.422 217
9. Martin Tomczyk Audi A4 DTM 1:22.650 129
10. Alexandre Premat Audi A4 DTM 1:22.653 189
11. Bernd Schneider AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:22.776 148
12. Tom Kristensen Audi A4 DTM 1:22.835 154
13. Gary Paffett AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:22.931 139
14. Christijan Albers Audi A4 DTM 1:23.303 94
15. Maro Engel AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:23.579 100
16. Ralf Schumacher AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:23.796 251
17. Katherine Legge Audi A4 DTM 1:23.893 179
18. Susie Stoddart AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:24.141 209
19. Mathias Lauda AMG Mercedes C-Klasse 1:24.163 204
By Steven English:Autosport.com
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