During this testing session it will be fascinating to watch these two teams sparring with each other. Neither team will want to give too much away as far as ultimate performance of their cars is concerned but both of them would very much like to be at the top of the times at the end of the day!

The teams are at slightly different points on their development programme. Peugeot took the 908 to the 12 hours of Sebring in March and won the race outright with the 'old' 908 Lapierre/Duval/Panis car. The Montagny/Sarrazin/Lamy Peugeot came third. Audi on the other hand chose not to debut their new Audi R18 so they took an updated pair of the 2010 Le Mans winning Audi R15-+plus instead. They may not have raced the R18 but they certainly did take their 1st team driver line up comprising Capello/Kristensen/McNish and Bernhard/Dumas/Rockenfeller. They did test the R18 i Florida, and data they will have gathered will be used here at Le Mans. So the teams arrived here still keeping a close eye on each other without having gone fully ‘head to head’ yet.

It is very early days but during the morning at testing all three Audis were going quicker than the Peugeots. This probably proves very little since the teams will be sorting out the set up of the cars and the drivers will be getting used to the circuit again.
 

PHOTO: TEST DAY, CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, LE MANS, 23 APRIL 2011; Audi, Peugeot and Aston Martin sit on the front of a 'reversed' grid on the start-finish line