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Friday, July 23, 1999 Published at 13:30 GMT 14:30 UK

Hill heads field in Austria

Damon Hill composes himself in the pits before second practice

Damon Hill's decision to continue racing until the end of the season has begun to pay dividends, after he clocked the fastest time in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Damon Hill: "At one point I thought I'd taken up a new career as a rally driver"
The Jordan driver snatched top spot just five minutes from the end of a roller-coaster opening day at Zeltweg.

Hill came off the A-1 Ring no less than five times, before posting a lap time of one minute, 13.303 seconds.

It was the 38-year-old's first outing since he finally ended the debate over his immediate future by announcing he would complete the season.

[ image: Eddie Irvine has words of encouragement for team-mate Mika Salo]
Eddie Irvine has words of encouragement for team-mate Mika Salo
Hill finished just 0.022sec faster than championship leader Mika Hakkinen.

Hakkinen and McLaren team-mate David Coulthard were in control for most of the two-hour session, before being overtaken by Hill.

However, they remain firm favourites for Sunday's race - particularly in the absence of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, who broke his leg at the British Grand Prix.

Ulsterman Eddie Irvine failed to make the most of his temporary status as Ferrari's lead driver, finishing only ninth in his first drive as team spearhead.

Mika Salo's first outing as Schumacher's replacement ended in disappointment when he spun into a gravel trap and ended back in 16th place.

Brazilian Ricardo Zonta came in an unexpected fourth fastest for British American Racing, ahead of the Sauber of Jean Alesi and Ralf Schumacher's Williams.

Free practice times for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix:

1 D Hill (GB) Jordan, one minute, 13.303 seconds.
2 M Hakkinen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes, 1:13.325.
3 D Coulthard (GB) McLaren-Mercedes, 1:13.376.
4 R Zonta (Bra) British American Racing, 1:13.685.
5 J Alesi (Fra) Sauber, 1:13.696.
6 R Schumacher (Ger) Williams, 1:13.711.
7 P Diniz (Bra) Sauber, 1:13.740.
8 J Villeneuve (Can) British American Racing, 1:13.840.
9 E Irvine (GB) Ferrari, 1:13.883.
10 R Barrichello (Bra) Stewart-Ford, 1:13.923.
11 J Herbert (GB) Stewart-Ford, 1:14.008.
12 A Zanardi (Ita) Williams, 1:14.049.
13 L Badoer (Ita) Minardi-Ford, 1:14.203.
14 M Gene (Spn) Minardi-Ford, 1:14.333.
15 H-H Frentzen (Ger) Jordan, 1:28.595.
16 M Salo (Fin) Ferrari, 1:14.608.
17 J Trulli (Ita) Prost-Peugeot, 1:14.724.
18 G Fisichella (Ita) Benetton, 1:14.785.
19 O Panis (Fra) Prost-Peugeot, 1:15.028.
20 A Wurz (Aut) Benetton, 1:15.107.
21 P de la Rosa (Spn) Arrows, 1:15.651.
22 T Takagi (Jpn) Arrows, 1:16.067.