ˆ Audi R15 dominates first day of Sebring testing

tags : 12 hours of sebring , 12hoursofsebring , acura lmp1 , acuralmp1 , audi r15 , audir15 , peugueot 908 , peugueot908

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See that blurry race car behind the Peugeot 908HDi in the above image? That's the new Audi R15, and when the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race gets underway this weekend, don't expect these two cars to be in this order very often. After Monday's first full day of official testing at Sebring, Audi's third-generation Le Mans racer, the R15, proved that it was the car to beat. Audi is fielding two R15s this year, and the No. 2 car driven by dream team Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello scorched the field yesterday with a fast lap of 1:43.596. That was a full half second quicker than the other Audi R15 driven by Marco Werner, Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller, and 1.406 seconds quicker than the fastest Peugeot. Acura is also joining Audi and Peugeot in the top LMP1 class this year, though its cars fielded by two private teams were another 0.1 and 0.8 seconds slower than the Peugeots.

Coverage of the 12 Hours of Sebring will begin this Saturday at 10:00 AM EST on SPEED, so let your spouse know now that you need a half day of no chores, family visits or slacks shopping. Also don't forget to set the mood by watching the premier of Truth in 24 on ESPN this Friday.

posted : 6/1/2009 @3:59:54 PM