As predicted, the flowing bends and long straights of Road America allowed a normally tethered Audi to hit their stride in qualifying for the Generac 500, round eight of the American Le Mans Series.
With various regulations restricting the advantage the R10 TDI has on the remainder of the field, the calendar that largely consists of tighter street circuits has been a bane for the hefty vehicle all season, allowing the nimbler LMP2 machines to take advantage despite being down on engine power.
Nonetheless, with power very much the key to success around the legendary Wisconsin circuit, Audi reminded the field of their once dominant state, the two cars a comfortable first and second.
Reigning champions Allan McNish and Dindo Capello secured pole position with a lap of 1min 47.665, a fair four tenths faster than the second Audi of Emmanuele Pirro and Marco Werner. Importantly though for them in their bid to end a five-race winning streak of Penske Porsche, the next car of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas was a further eight tenths back.
Indeed, while their advantage on most circuits has turned into their disadvantage around Elkhart Lake, Penske were still not perhaps as far behind as many expected, two Porsche RS Spyders closely matched and well ahead of the fifth place overall Highcroft Acura.
The AGR Acura, the first Dyson Porsche, the Lowe Acura and the second Dyson Porsche meanwhile were closely matched in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth.
In the GT1 class, Corvette once again held steady at the front, but for once it was Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell leading championship runaways Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta. Even so, their achievement was overshadowed by that of the new GT1 entry this weekend, the Doran Maserati of Didier Theys and Fredy Leinhard getting to within a second of the Corvettes despite no testing and no experience of this ilk of sportscar for the drivers.
