SILVERSTONE, England -- Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg showed once again he has the car to challenge the top drivers, clocking the fastest lap in practice Friday at the rain-soaked British Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg, who won the Monaco GP and was on pole at the Spanish GP, was 0.299 seconds faster than Webber. It was the first time the Australian had been on track since surprising his team on Thursday by announcing he would be leaving Formula One at the end of the season to race sports cars. "On one lap the car is still quick, so qualifying should be OK," Rosberg said. "But the question mark is our race speed. We practiced the race speed today and it felt decent so far. But it could be a completely different picture on Sunday as the weather should be a lot warmer, so we dont know where we are right now compared to the others. Im still quite confident that we can have a good weekend." Vettel, the three-time defending champion, was 0.432 seconds behind as he looks to extend his lead atop the drivers championship. The German has a 36-point lead over Ferraris Fernando Alonso with 12 races remaining. Lotus driver Raikkonen is another eight points back in third and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is fourth. "I think overall we can be pretty happy. It was a good day," Vettel said. "Obviously it was important to get some laps in the dry as we expect dry conditions on Sunday. Now we need to have a look at what we can improve, have a look what the others did and then well know a little bit more for tomorrow." Hamilton was the closest among Vettels rivals, coming in fifth fastest while Alonso settled for 10th and Raikkonen 13th. Hamilton, the 2008 champion, called it "quite a challenging day." "Im struggling a little with the balance of my car so theres some work to do overnight to get us into shape for qualifying," Hamilton said. "We havent quite got it hooked up yet and you can really tell that on this circuit." On a rainy day at Silverstone, teams were forced to get much of their track time in on the second session after rain washed out most of the first practice. The track was mostly dry but it still caused plenty of problems for Alonsos teammate, Felipe Massa. Massa spun and crashed into a wall on Turn 15, the latest setback for the Brazilian who has had crashes in two earlier races. He crashed in practice and the race at Monaco and then in qualifying at the Canadian GP. "I am very disappointed about what happened today as the accident cost me valuable time, especially in terms of getting an understanding of the tire behaviour here at Silverstone," Massa said. "At the exit of the corner, I found myself on a piece of track that was still very damp and I lost control of the car. Luckily, the car only suffered slight front end damage and tomorrow we will comfortably be able to pick up where we left off with the work." In the first session, Toro Rossos Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap of 1:54.249 followed by Saubers Nico Hulkenberg, who was 0.784 seconds off the pace. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was third fastest. Fans in the packed grandstand were left frustrated, since the track remained empty for most of the 90-minute session while it rained on Silverstone. Expecting dryer conditions this weekend, teams gambled they would learn little from a wet track. The teams defended the decision, citing safety concerns. But many did apologize for letting down fans at a circuit that often draws some of the biggest and boisterous crowds in Formula One "Im sorry for the fans who packed the circuit today, who did not get to see the show they were expecting because of the rain," Ferraris Pat Fry said. "In the morning, track conditions were extremely difficult and with the few sets of tires available, we preferred to stay in the pits, as did almost all the other teams." Half the drivers went out in the session, though Hamilton was the only title contender to set a lap time. Several drivers struggled with the wet track including Caterhams Charles Pic, who slid into a wall. He was unhurt. Fake Air Max 90 White .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. Air Max 90 Leather Iron Bronze . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/. -- The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Cuban shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena to a $25 million, five-year contract Saturday. Cheap Off White Air Max 90 .com) - Robert Upshaw made a putback jumper to put 17th-ranked Washington ahead with 1:27 remaining in the game and the Huskies held on to beat Eastern Washington 81-77 on Sunday. Air Max 90 Outlet . Hoffman, the former star closer, will evaluate and help co-ordinate all pitchers at Double-A, Triple-A and the big league team. Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers.Is Jon Jones running out of competition after another convincing title defence? Is Donald Cerrone ready for another crack at the lightweight title? With UFC 182 in the books its time to take a look into the future for the main card winners. JON JONES UFC 182 Result: Defeated Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision Whats next?: The waiting game. The light heavyweight division is running out of guys Jones hasnt beaten, but that doesnt mean there arent compelling opportunities. Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson square off in Sweden on Jan. 31 for what should be the next shot at the belt. If Gustafsson wins, Jones is looking at a rematch with the guy who almost took his belt in 2013 and proved to be his most worthy challenger to date. If Johnson wins, Jones gets an unfamiliar powerhouse who is on a tear as part of a career resurgence at 205 pounds. -- DONALD CERRONE UFC 182 Result: Defeated Myles Jury via unanimous decision Whats next?: The campaign trail. Cerrone is scorching right now with six straight wins and a striking attack that looks unstoppable. His biggest obstacle is the amount of fighters waiting in front of him to get the attention of lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Rafael Dos Anjos is next up for a title shot in March and former No. 1 contender Gilbert Melendez fell short in his title bout in December, which means Cerrones quest for gold will likely have to go through the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0), who is currently healing from a torn meniscus in his right knee and is eyeing a February return. ** UPDATE ** Since this article was posted, Cerrone has agreed to replace the injured Eddie Alvarez in a bout with Benson Henderson at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver on Jan. 18. -- BRAD TAVARES UFC 182 Result: Defeated Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision Whats next?: Trial by fire Tavaares rise up the middleweight ranks hit a wall with consecutive losses to Yoel Romero and Tim Boetsch in 2014, but a convincing win over Marquardt will at least stop the bleeding for now.ddddddddddddAn interesting test would be a bout with CB Dollaway, who is also looking to stop some bleeding of his own after a disappointing TKO loss to Lyoto Machida in his first ever main event in December. Tavares looks talented enough for the upper half of the division and a fight against someone in a similar position could go a long way in proving his worth. -- KYOJI HORIGUCHI UFC 182 Result: Defeated Louis Gaudinot via unanimous decision Whats next?: Another rung Horiguchi has dominated his first four opponents in the UFC and now its time for a real challenge on the ladder up the flyweight division. Without taking away from his UFC victories, the truth is he has yet to face any championship-calibre opponents. With Zach Makovsky and Timothy Elliott set to tangle in mid-February, Horiguchi would slot in well against former title contender Chris Cariaso. Cariaso is an experienced and talented fighter that would be a logical next step for Horiguchi to try and vault himself into the upper echelon at 125 pounds. -- HECTOR LOMBARD UFC 182 Result: Defeated Josh Burkman via unanimous decision Whats next? The big boys After his fourth win in five UFC fights, its time to see if Lombard belongs in the title conversation. The former Bellator champion thinks Rory MacDonald makes more sense for his next fight and he would be right based on the circumstances. Since MacDonald has been forced to wait for the Robbie Lawler-Johny Hendricks trilogy to end before he fights for the belt, and the next four ranked fighters are booked, it would make a lot of sense to see if Lombard can compete with a level of talent he has yet to face in the UFC. ' ' '