Schneider keeps Mercedes top at Vallelunga test.

After Mika Hakkinen and Bruno Spengler had topped the first two days of the DTM's marathon pre-season test at Vallelunga, multiple champion Bernd Schneider continued Mercedes' strong run by repeating the feat on day three.

With conditions improving by the minutes, the closing stages of Wednesday's afternoon session saw fastest laps coming thick and fast. However, it was the experienced Schneider who wound up on top of the timesheets, clocking a 1min 28.135secs effort to eclipse the previous top time, set by HWA team-mate Bruno Spengler on Tuesday, by 0.178 seconds.

"Apart from a short rain shower, we had the chance of completing a lot of laps and tested several things," Schneider commented, "We suffered no technical problem whatsoever and, in the closing stages, we tested a new set of tyres and I was able to set the fastest lap time."

Audi driver Tom Kristensen refused to let the Three Pointed Star have it all its own way, however, taking the fight to Schneider and maintaining his own strong testing form with second place, just 0.320secs behind the German, with morning pacesetter Jamie Green just nine-thousandths of a second slower.

As had been the case on the two previous days, red flag continued to interrupt the sessions as the drivers exceeded the limit of adhesion, although none suffered serious damage and were able to resume.

The series highest-profile 'signing' of the off-season made his debut on day three, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen getting his first run in the Audi A4 DTM that he will campaign this season. The German used the day to settle in to his new environment, and had already completed his assigned programme by the time the battle for top spot began. As a result, he had to settle for an unrepresentative seventh position.

"Out of curiosity, I was very keen on doing my first laps with the Audi," the Opel convert said, "I was anxious to meet my new team and find out its way of working. Now, my thirst for knowledge has been quenched - for the time being at least - and I discovered several interesting areas I'd like to pursue tomorrow."

Although Green set the fastest lap of the morning, he too achieved it in the closing stages of a session that had been dominated by Audi drivers. Schneider also had time to squeeze in the second best effort, leaving Mattias Ekstrom, Kristensen and Frentzen wondering what had happened after alternating at the top of the timesheets throughout.