Tom Kristensen (Audi R10 TDI #2): "I was looking forward very much to driving the new Audi R10 TDI with diesel power for the first time here at Sebring on Monday and it didn’t disappoint me. Our new ‘baby’ has excellent power and extremely good aerodynamics. So the guys in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm managed once again to put something very special on four wheels.”

Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Every day we learn more about our car. And now we already know how competitive we are. Our lap times look very good and we are definitely working in the right direction and so will have a well prepared car for the race on Saturday.”

The starting grid for the 12-hour race will be decided in qualifying on Thursday. The organisers expect another record crowd of over 150,000 spectators during the weekend at the traditional season opener in the US state of Florida. The long-distance classic is the most important sportscar race in the USA and for Audi, the dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans where Audi bids to become the first manufacturer to claim overall victory with a diesel sportscar.

Quotes after the first practice day at Sebring

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "Like always it’s very difficult to adapt a new car to a tricky circuit like Sebring. We’ve been here for testing but due to the higher ambient temperatures, we now have completely different circumstances. The team is working towards the race set-up for both cars and is making good progress.”

Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #2): "It’s nice to get back into the cockpit of a race car after such a long time of preparation. With the heavy traffic of the slower ALMS classes on the circuit, I feel at home already. We are still improving our R10 TDI and I’m now looking forward to the qualifying.”