The Fight Up Front

They're the most exciting, radical, artistically engineered race cars the world has ever seen.

And they're all here.

The 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh From Florida will go under the green flag at 10:30 this morning in what's shaping up to be en epic three-way clash between the world's top motor sports manufacturers.

America's most celebrated endurance challenge will cap off a week of racing that's already seen its share of surprises.

Acura shocked the paddock on Thursday afternoon when defending Indy 500 and IndyCar champion Scott Dixon stole the pole in his final lap while piloting one of Acura's two brand-new LMP1 entries, the de Ferran Motorsports No. 66 ARX-02a.

After watching P1 powerhouses Audi and Peugeot trade top practice times all week, Acura performed best when it counted, earning the front spot in today's 28-car starting grid with an average speed of 126.522 miles per hour.

"At the beginning of the week, we were fast but the track has changed a lot," Dixon said following his qualifying run. "The Audis were quick out of the box and laid down a great time, but I think the heat helped us and the longer you run the Acura on the same set of tires it seems to get better and better.

"This car is like nothing else I've driven - it's hard to compare it to other cars."

Audi, winners of eight of nine overall championship and nine straight in LMP1 at SIR, debuts their brand new R15 TDI today.

Dependability is paramount to winning at Sebring, and few can predict how a brand-new prototype will respond to 12 hours on the bumpy 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit that's notoriously rough on even the most proven drivers and cars.

"Like any long distance race, it's all down to reliability," Dixon said. "We've proved we are quick, now we have to be consistent."

Audi has proven it can win "out of the box" before, both with the R8 in 2000 and the R10 in 2006, and all-time Sebring wins co-leader Tom Kristensen thinks the Germans can make it three-for-three in maiden voyages.

"Especially with a new car, the adrenaline is a little bit higher," he said. "You feel a little bit more of the positive pressure, because there's so much input to this car but you haven't got the output back. When you come here, you have everything - the temperature, wheel loads, cornering speeds, the temperature of the brakes - Sebring is very, very hard."

Peugeot returns the same diesel-powered 908 entries it debuted last year (the No. 07 and 08) while attempting to become the first French manufacturer to win overall at SIR.

They'll start in the third and fifth spot on the grid, which is no problem, according to Peugeot Sport Director Oliver Quesnel.

"Like Le Mans, Sebring is a real endurance race, so starting from the pole position wasn't a priority for us," Quesnel said. "We are pleased with our lap times and the main objective comes on Saturday, not before."

LMP2

Acura also has the pole in the LMP2 class after Adrian Fernandez blew away the competition on Thursday with a 1 minute, 49.686 second lap, nearly two seconds faster than his nearest competitor.

The Mexican co-owner of Lowe's Fernandez Racing said when it comes to today's race, everything old is new again: SIR is its same old bumpy self, but with a new car, new regulations and unpredictable weather, anything can happen.

"I think it will be difficult for us because the car is heavier and has the smaller engine intake," Fernandez said. "The direction of the wind is so different, it's coming from behind instead of across the track, so you can see our time is different than last year. But now we're in a car that is less powerful than six to eight cars on the track, so it's hard to have one eye on the track and the other on the mirror."

GT1

Corvette may be the only challenger in the GT1 class this year, but that doesn't mean the class will be devoid of a shootout.

The No. 4 C6-R had the fastest lap in qualifying (1:57.882), but Sebring's most experienced racer, Johnny O'Connell, will help pilot the No. 3 'Vette, and he'd love to pick up his eighth class victory in his 19th Sebring start.

"I go back at Sebring long before the American Le Mans Series, and I have always had really good success there," O'Connell said. "I love every aspect of it, and that it's an endurance race run with a sprint race mentality. If there is one race a sports car driver wants on his resume as a win, to me it's always been Sebring, more than Daytona, more than anything; it's our most special race."

GT2

The first battle in the war for the 2009 GT2 class will unfold today at Sebring, with defending champion Flying Lizard looking to hold off top qualifiers Farnbacher Loles, 2007 champ Risi Ferrari and newcomer BMW Rahal-Letterman.

Porsche has the front row all locked up, as the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 911 RSR will lead the group after Dirk Werner grabbed the pole with a 2:03.051 lap, while the No. 45 Flying Lizard will start second in a class that's tight at the top: Five teams were within 1.5 seconds of each other during qualifying.

"This is our first race supported by Porsche Motorsport, so I think it shows the capabilities of the team and why we have that support," Werner said. "The team has done such a great job with the set-up, I feel really good for the race."

SPEED (Comcast Channel 44) will televise the race live from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.

American Le Mans Radio and Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com, and all the action can be heard on XM Channel 242 and Sirius Channel 126. The broadcast will air from 10 a.m to noon and 9 to 11 p.m. ET on Saturday. Also, visit highlandstoday.com and click "On Track with Brian Gjurgevich" for up-to-the-minute updates of all of today's action, including turn-by-turn analysis and news straight from pit row.