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Diesel teams play down pole loss

The Audi and Peugeot teams have played down the significance of being beaten to Sebring 12 Hours pole by Acura, insisting that their focus was on race preparation

Audi motorsport boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich said that qualifying had not been a priority for his team, which saw driver Tom Kristensen knocked off the top spot by De Ferran Acura's Scott Dixon in the final minute.

"The grip level in qualifying was not at the same level as the previous practice sessions," said Ullrich.

"I would also like to reiterate that we are here to prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Therefore, we have not spent any time setting the car up specifically for qualifying."

Peugeot Sport's Olivier Quesnel said his team had preferred to save tyres for race day rather than chasing pole. Christian Klien was the top Peugeot runner in third on the grid.

"Like Le Mans, Sebring is a real endurance race, so starting from pole position wasn't a priority for us," said Quesnel.

"Qualifying was essentially just a chance for us to prepare for the race and we only put in the number of laps we deemed necessary, which means we have spared our tyres.

"We are pleased with our lap times and the main objective comes on Saturday, not before.

"That said, seeing how qualifying unfolded, with all the LMP1s bunched so close together on the same second, it promises to be a very close race. We have no intention of taking any risks, however. Our goal is to prepare for Le Mans."

But while the teams insisted they had not been interested in pole position, Kristensen admitted that he had done his utmost to beat the Acura.

"It would have been really cool to have made a debut pole for the R15 TDI," he said.

"We had pole but it was snatched away on the last lap of qualifying, which was very close and exciting.

"Our focus is for the race and a successful warm-up for Le Mans but as a driver, of course I wanted the pole."

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