MELBOURNE, Australia - Mercedes confirmed its status as favourite to win the Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix by setting the fastest two times in Fridays practice sessions, with Lewis Hamilton edging his teammate Nico Rosberg. Luis Hernandez Jersey . Hamilton failed to complete a lap in the opening practice session due to a malfunctioning oil pressure sensor that shut down his engine, but recovered to set a time of 1 minute 29.625 seconds in the second session around the Albert Park circuit, 0.157 seconds ahead of Rosberg. "That was quite satisfying. On one lap the pace was good, and on the long run, as well," Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. He added, however, that Hamiltons early problem meant there is still cause for concern. "You need to be very careful because its enough to have a little problem and the race or qualifying could be finished." Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was fastest in the first session but dropped to third in the second, half a second off Hamiltons time. Kimi Raikkonen was only seventh fastest in his return to the Italian team after suffering some problems, including failing to select first gear when trying a practice start. "Were still not on top of all the things we need to resolve," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said. "The negative sides have to be addressed very quickly because the competition is strong and the time available is not very much." The gaps at the top of the timesheets were reasonably close, which points toward a competitive qualifying session on Saturday and race on Sunday, rather than the Mercedes dominance that many had predicted. Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel was tipped to struggle in his campaign for a fifth straight drivers championship due to his teams preseason struggles with Renaults new V6 turbo engine, but he put in an encouraging performance to finish fourth fastest in practice. Vettel and new teammate Daniel Ricciardo — who was sixth fastest — completed a total of 115 laps, which will provide valuable data on the car and engines performance. "Its been a very strong first day for us," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. "Weve had a very difficult preseason with numerous issues so it was refreshing to get some laps in and get a first proper feel for the car. "We can see there is quite a gap to the Mercedes and the Ferrari, but we are starting to feel what that gap is and by the end of the weekend we will have a clearer idea." By contrast, fellow Renault-powered teams Lotus and Caterham did very little running due to a succession of technical problems, coupled with some spins into the gravel traps by Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. There has been concern that these two teams, and perhaps others, will sit out Saturdays final practice session to avoid encountering a problem that takes a long time to fix — as many do with these new complex engines — and therefore having to miss both qualifying and the race. Renault deputy managing director Rob White admitted the company was way behind schedule in integrating the complex new powertrains to its four customer teams. "Its completely unacceptable to come to the first race as relatively unprepared as we are," White said. McLaren driver Jenson Button was fifth fastest in Fridays practice, while his rookie teammate Kevin Magnussen was ninth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was eighth, four places above his experienced new teammate Felipe Massa in 12th. Force Indias Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten. Oribe Peralta Jersey . -- Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias says he has stress fractures in both legs and isnt sure when hell be able to play again, leaving the Tigers two weeks to fill his spot for opening day and perhaps a lot longer. Miguel Ponce Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen. http://www.soccermexicojerseysteamshop.com/carlos-vela-mexico-jersey/ . The Canadian defensive tackle suffered the injury on Monday and had tests done on Tuesday. He was a potential starter on the defensive line but head coach Mike OShea said he wasnt even thinking about the ratio when he got the news.OROPA, Italy -- Enrico Battaglin sprinted to victory on a tough uphill finish to claim the 14th stage of the Giro dItalia on Saturday as the race hit the first of the high mountains. The Italian came from behind to overtake Jarlinson Pantano in the final 50 metres and edge out Dario Cataldo on the line after a climb to the sanctuary of Oropa, the scene of Marco Pantanis memorable victory in 1999. Pantano finished seven seconds behind. "I didnt believe I could do it until the last kilometre. My legs were at their limits, I was tired too," Battaglin said. "Then I saw that others too were breaking down. Then I gained some meters immediately, I gritted my teeth and I passed them in the last 20 metres. It is a superb win for me, what a fight." Rigoberto Uran of Colombia retained the overall lead but saw his advantage cut on the 164-kilometre (102-mile) route from Aglie. Cadel Evans -- who wore the pink jersey earlier in the race -- gained five seconds and is now 32 seconds behind Uran. Rafal Majka is third overall, 1:35 behind. "We lost a few seconds, but its no worry," Uran said. "The team is doing well, Im calm. But the Giro is still very open." It was the second of three stages dedicated to Pantani, the Italian cyclist who won both the Giro and Tour de France in 1998. He was found dead in a hotel room on Valentines Day in 2004, and a coroner ruled he died from cocaine poisoning. As the Giro entered the final week, the race entered the mountains and Fridays route had four categorized climbs including the steep final ascent. The breakaway of the day was formed of 21 riders but the peloton were happy to let them go, with none of the eescapees less than half an hour behind Uran in the overall standings. Mario Osuna Jersey. . The first two weeks of the Giro had been littered with crashes on wet roads, and even though the day was dry there was another crash with around 102K (63 miles) remaining as the peloton went through a roundabout. No one was seriously injured but Kanstantsin Siutsou later quit the race. Pieter Weening -- who won the ninth stage -- also retired during the day. The gap to the breakaway group went up to more than 10 minutes because of the crash but was back down to 9:29 at the start of the category 2 climb up to Alpe Noveis. And the peloton had gained more than two minutes at the top of the ascent after a gradient of up to 16 per cent. Nicolas Roche escaped from the break on the highest climb of the day, up the Bielmonte, which has a ski station at the summit. As he crested the top, he had 10 seconds on the remainder of the original break, which was down to 12 cyclists. The Irish cyclist was caught on the descent and Albert Timmer and Manuel Quinziato took over the lead before the latter had a mechanical problem at the start of the final climb. Timmer made an attempt to stay in front but was caught with 2K (1.2 miles) remaining by Cataldo and Pantano and dropped shortly after. Battaglin powered to catch the lead group inside the final kilometre and he surged forward again on the cobbled ramps up to the finish. Strong climbers Nairo Quintana and Domenico Pozzovivo will be looking to gain more time on Uran as the Giro stays in the mountains. Sundays 15th stage is mainly flat before another tough climb up to the finish of the 225K (140-mile) leg from Valdengo to Montecampione. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Camo China NFL Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Cheap Jerseys From China ' ' '