Formula 1: World champion Fernando Alonso denied Michael Schumacher top spot in second practice for the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola today.
Schumacher had been fastest in first practice and topped the timing sheets this afternoon before Alonso relegated him to second with a late effort.
The Renault driver's best effort of one minute 25.043 seconds was still slower than Schumacher's effort this morning however, giving Ferrari hope of a resurgence.
The former world champions slumped off the pace in Malaysia and Australia but their Bridgestone tyres are well suited to Imola and Schumacher lived up to expectations.
He was 0.328secs down on Alonso this afternoon but that still represented a major improvement after his struggles in recent races.
BMW-Sauber test driver Robert Kubica was third quickest with Honda counterpart Anthony Davidson fourth.
Felipe Massa underlined Ferrari's improvement with fifth place while the other Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella completed the top six.
Jenson Button completed his first laps of the weekend, clocking the 11th fastest time after sitting out the morning session to protect his Honda engine.
Scotsman David Coulthard was down in 20th for Red Bull, over two seconds slower than Alonso.
In the morning session, the small group of fans at Imola for first practice got the result they wanted with Schumacher putting Ferrari back on top.
Schumacher, who has won six times at Imola, set a fastest lap of one minute 24.751secs at the very end of the session to pip Williams tester Alex Wurz to top spot by 0.381secs.
Kubica, the first Pole in Formula One, continued to impress and claimed third spot, one clear of Davidson. PA