Davidson dominates Indy practise - Schumacher pips Alonso (Roundup)

By Volker Gundrum Jul 1, 2006, 1:17 GMT

Indianapolis - Michael Schumacher on Friday managed to beat world champion Fernando Alonso on the opening day of practise for the United States Formula One Grand Prix, but the margin was small.

Schumacher clocked 1 minute 13.346 seconds in his Ferrari while Alonso had 1:13.474 minutes on the famous speedway. The times were recorded in the second round after Alonso's Renault team had as usual sat out the opening round.

Both sessions were led by Honda test driver Anthony Davidson, his day best of 1:12.013 coming in the second session to rank ahead of BMW tester Robert Kubica, who had 1:12.809 in a BMW. Test drivers are only allowed to drive in Friday practise.

Alonso's team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella was the fastest race driver in the afternoon session with 1:12.933.

Schumacher had a brief scary moment in the morning session when he spun out into the gravel.

None of the teams racing on Michelin tyres experienced tyre problems. Last year, all seven Michelin teams did not compete in the race after the French team issued a safety warning following several accidents. The farcical six-car race was won by Schumacher.

Alonso leads the championship with 84 points from nine of 18 season races, with Schumacher a distant second on 59 points. Alonso has won the last four races for a season tally of six.

Another practice and qualifying is set for Saturday and the 73-lap race on the 4.192-kilometre course for 306.016 km is on Sunday.

Morning Practise coincided with the World Cup football match in Berlin between hosts Germany and Argentina, with effectively all teams glued to the television to watch the German win on penalties for a place in the semi-finals.

'Some of our crew were more excited than at a Formula One race,' wondered BMW motorsport chief Mario Theissen.