First and second free practice sessions

Session one had to be stopped because the track in the veedol chicane
was covered with dirt and car parts, after several drivers had left the
track and passed the gravel trap. 15 minutes later, after the street
cleaner had done it's job, the session was restarted. Session two ended
with a shock for young Scotsman Dario Franchitti, when he had to return
to the pits with a fire under the bonnet.

6 - Kurt Thiim
The Dane was the fastest in all the two sessions (1:39.43/1:39.23),
but did do his fast lap in session two only seconds before the session
ended. "In session two I did a long run with full tanks. That's why I
wasn't so fast for some time. Altogether I'm quite happy with my car."

9 - Manuel Reuter
The German was the third fastest (1:40.00) of session one, but couldn't
achieve a good time in session two. "Session one was quite nice, but in
session two I got a gearbox problem after only three fast laps. May be
the gearbox lost some teeth. It's a pity, because we had some plans for
this session."

4 - Jan Magnussen
The danish Mercedes Youngster finished session one in fourth position
(1:40.25) and was sixth of session two (1:39.85). "Its the first time,
that I'm racing here, I didn't even do a test on the Nurburgring up to
now. So I'm rather happy with my practice results of course."

7 - Alessandro Nannini
"The car is very competitive, and I feel really good too. That's why
I could be so fast and do the third fastes time in session two. But
nevertheless I won't tell you what I expect for this weekend. Every day
is different, you know."

19 - Michael Bartels
The German, Alfa's top scorer in the '95 DTM season, wasn't very happy:
"My car wasn't very competitive in session one, but session two was
much worse, as my engine blew up after only three laps. Nevertheless
I'm nearly sure, that I'll be able to achieve a Top 15 placement this
afternoon. Remember, I was 10th in session one, although my car didn't
work very well."

2 - Keke Rosberg
Left the track in session two after he had finished the first one
in 11th position. "It was my fault, I just wanted too much and lost
control."

20 - JJ Lehto
"In session one I was slowed down by a gearbox problem, session two
didn't happen for me, as my engine had a misfire and couldn't be changed
in time. That's really bitter, as I haven't been here before and had
liked to do some more practice laps than the ten I did."

30 - Gabriele Tarquini
"This is great. The Class one car reminds me much more to a Formula 1
racer than to my Class 2 Alfa with front wheel drive, which I have driven
the last two years."