The new Audi R10 TDI remains the sportscar to beat at its first race after its historic victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans: The two diesel sportscars of Frank Biela (Germany) and Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and their team-mates, Allan McNish (Scotland) and Dindo Capello (Italy), start the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series in Salt Lake City (US state Utah) from the front row once again.

Allan McNish initially claimed the fastest lap with a time of 2mins 22.109secs in the 20-minute qualifying session for the "Utah Grand Prix” at the Miller Motorsports Park. Shortly before the end of qualifying, the Scotsman bettered his quickest time (2m 21.762s) only for team-mate Frank Biela to eclipse it seconds later with a 2m 21.553s and clinch for himself and co-driver Emanuele Pirro pole position for the race that starts on Saturday at 18:00hrs local time (Sunday 02:00hrs German time).

The diesel-powered sportscar of Audi proves itself in the desert of Utah in extreme conditions: With outside temperatures of 40 degrees and an altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level, the Audi R10 TDI is competing in intense heat and extremely high terrain.

Penske Porsches Best in P2

Penske's two Porsches qualified fourth and fifth overall with Lucas Luhr taking the P2 pole. His best lap of 2:23.387 nipped Timo Bernhard by 0.073 seconds. Saturday will be the fourth time in five races that the two RS Spyders will start 1-2 in class. Luhr and Sascha Maassen, however, are looking for their first win since Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at the end of 2005.

Aston Martin Dominates GT1 Qualifying

Aston Martin Racing will start Saturday's American Le Mans Series race at Miller Motorsports Park from first and second positions in the GT1 class after an excellent performance during today's qualifying session.

Tomas Enge, who set the fastest lap in the number 007 DBR9, qualified in a time of 2:34.953. Stephane Sarrazin secured second place for the British team in the number 009 DBR9 with a time of 2:35.330.

Both drivers set their blistering times on a single flying lap near the start of the 20-minute qualifying session. Enge and team-mate Darren Turner have captured three of the five GT1 pole positions this year in their 007 Aston Martin DBR9.

Risi Competizione Takes GT2 Pole

In GT2, Jamie Melo won his second class pole of the season for Risi Competizione. The Ferrari F430GT turned in a lap of 2:44.024 to beat out the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche of Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister by more than a second.

"I like the track very much. For our car, it is very good," said Melo, who will team with Mika Salo. "We are fast in the slower parts. We found a very good setup from the first session, and we have kept improving. The team has done a very good job after Lime Rock. I'm very happy to have done this. Tomorrow should be a very good race."

The Ferrari has been the quickest GT2 car all week at Miller, and Friday is no different. The bright red entry has shown similar speed at each Series round but continues to look for its first win of the season.

"The Porsches are quicker on acceleration," Melo said. "We just have to be careful at the beginning. For sure it will be a very difficult race. If you go off the line, it will be difficult to keep the line. It should be very, very exciting. "

In the 2hr 45mins race on Saturday, the drivers will await another true test under tough conditions: The completely new racetrack, built approximately 30 miles west of Salt Lake City and staging an international race for the first time, is difficult and demanding. The Audi drivers have had just three and a half hours of free practice on Thursday and Friday to learn the 4.5 miles (7.242 kilometre) circuit before the race, the longest permanent race track in North America.