Business As Usual At SIR

SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY - It was business as usual for Team Audi, as the fourth annual American Le Mans Series Winter Test came to a close on Wednesday with the Florida sun kissing the famed track.

After Peugeot stole the headlines on Tuesday by breaking the track's lap record, Audi reclaimed the top spot with a top lap of 1:44.180 (127.856 mph) during the morning session, bumping the French team to second - 0.394 seconds in the rear.

"There is so much to learn about this track," said Peugeot driver Nic Minassian. "We're happy with our times and with each lap, I'm gaining more confidence. We've got to get the car ready for the challenges of the [12 Hours of Sebring]."

A euphoria of Tuesday's record setting morning was still in the air, as driver Stephane Sarrazin talked about his run.

"I got a good feeling for the car [on Tuesday]," said driver Stephane Sarrazin. "We've worked on set up and balance a little since yesterday and had a new set of tires this morning. This is a very difficult track. I've driven here before but in a GT [class car], but the prototype handles differently on this bumpy surface.

"I really didn't expect to post the time we posted this morning."

The Winter Test has seen unprecedented growth in the past two seasons, with the major race teams using this time to test their cars against

the best in the world - if only for a few laps. The ALMS has used this platform to kick off their season and the teams have bought into that mantra.

"We've positioned the test after the 24 Hours of Daytona and that has brought much more media attention," said ALMS vice president of public relations Bob Dickinson. "With the contingent of media here, race teams have used this platform to make major announcements, as we saw [Tuesday] with Corvette and others."

Corvette used the test on Tuesday to introduce their new Corvette E85 and Bell Motorsports and Aston Martin, along with Gil de Ferran, came out of retirement to team with Acura to make four teams for the manufacturer.

In the LMP2 class, the BK Motorsports Porsche RS Spyder (125.907 mph) and the Andretti/Green Acura ARX-01B (125.742 mph) turned impressive laps in the late session on Tuesday, but the Penske Porsche RS Spyder (127.330 mph) worked better in the colder morning temperatures.

Bryan Herta of Andretti Green Racing set the third fastest time overall and fastest in LMP2 with 1:44.542. The team fought mechanical issues during the first day of testing but the Acura ARX-01b proved to run well Day Two.

No. 08 Aston Martin DBR9 and driver Antonio Garcia saw a two-second improvement from Monday during Tuesday's testing sessions, setting the team's fastest lap time of 1.58.442 on day two, while maintaining that pace 1:58.774 on the final day.

Team Panoz, which had been running a single car for the first two days of testing, introduced a second car and saw the GT2 clocking speeds of 108 mph in minimal amount of laps around the historic track.

But the talk of the winter test revolved around if Peugeot will be able to hang with the mighty Audi team on a track they've owned for nearly a decade.

"We'll have to see come March," Minassian said.

The 2008 ALMS season opens with the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 15. The race will start at 10 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live by SPEED.