Qualifying was a surprise for all involved as Scott Dixon took pole position with de Ferran Motorsports’ Acura. The petrol powered car dominated the works diesel of both Audi and Peugeot, although the split to second place Tom Kristensen was barely a tenth of a second. The entire top five was only split by 0.28, with Klien picking up third for Peugeot.

Franck’s car was fifth, although it was Bourdais behind the wheel. FKM got in the car later, though, for night practice, and things started to look up as he posted the fastest time. Again, the times were super close with Allan McNish 0.07 seconds behind. It was a wet track after a rain shower left standing water on some parts of the circuit.

Between qualifying and the practice, Franck’s site was updated, with reaction from the man himself, and telling us not to worry that they’re 5th - 12 hours is a long time!

This is a very demanding circuit, probably the most bumpy of the championship and we should deal with that. I felt at ease from the outset and the atmosphere is very good in the team. We still have a testing night tonight and a meeting on Friday. Then we’ll see what happens in the race. Our goal is to prepare for Le Mans certainly … but I still want to have a good result here.