Motorsport: Di Resta in good shape for title tilt

Bathgate's Paul di Resta warmed up for tomorrow's DTM Championship decider in Shanghai by finishing fastest of the three title contenders in the opening practice.

While Audi driver Martin Tomczyk topped the timesheets with a best time of 1min 00.858secs round the 1.5-mile street circuit in China, 24-year-old Di Resta was just 0.029s further back in second.

"It's been a good session," said the Scot, who starts tomorrow's race three points behind Canadian Bruno Spengler, and six ahead of England's Gary Paffett. All three drive identical Mercedes. "We've another session ahead of qualifying but certainly yesterday the car went well and I like the street circuit. It flows well and there are a couple of exciting overtaking opportunities."

Paffett, the 2005 DTM champ and outsider to lift the 2010 crown, was third-quickest while Spengler could only manage sixth, but just 0.138s off the pace set by Tomczyk.

The DTM Championship still uses the old Formula One points scoring system, with the winner getting ten points, then 8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Di Resta must score at least three points more than Spengler; the Scot would take the title having won more races this season than his team-mate.