MONACO, May 25 - Juan Pablo Montoya raised McLaren's spirits for their 40th anniversary race by lapping quicker than world champion Fernando Alonso in free practice for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday.

The Colombian, a winner in 2003 on the unforgiving street circuit, was the quickest race driver in one minute 16.138 seconds in the afternoon after Renault's Alonso topped the timesheets in the morning.

Austrian Alexander Wurz, the Williams test driver who will not race on Sunday, was quickest of all with a time of 1:15.907 on a hot afternoon in the Mediterranean principality.

"We seem to be quite competitive and have definitely made progress," said the Colombian. "I love this track as it's such a challenge and I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the weekend."

Montoya's performance was a boost for Mercedes-powered McLaren after a scare in the morning when Kimi Raikkonen, last year's Monaco winner, pulled over.

Raikkonen grabbed an extinguisher from a marshal and fired foam over the rear of the car before mechanics pushed the McLaren back to the pits.

A Mercedes spokesman said a heat shield had caught fire and the engine was undamaged -- a relief because any unscheduled change incurs a 10-place penalty on the starting grid at a circuit where overtaking is almost impossible.

Raikkonen was sixth fastest in the afternoon, with the session stopped three times due to minor incidents -- twice when Honda's Anthony Davidson and BMW's Robert Kubica hit barriers and once when a bollard came loose.

FIRST WIN

McLaren, Renault's closest rivals last season with 10 victories, have struggled for pace in 2006 and are still looking for their first win of the year after six races.

McLaren made their debut at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix with founder Bruce McLaren at the wheel.

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