The two favourites for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours undertook further testing at Sebring this week before heading back to Europe to continue their preparations for the world’s most famous endurance race.

Audi chose Florida to kick off the on-track programme of the new Audi R15 Plus ahead of June’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The German team worked first at Homestead, near Tampa, during the week that preceded the 12 Hours of Sebring, before setting up camp last Monday at Sebring, although its run was soon interrupted when Mike Rockenfeller went off.

Happily, the Ingolstadt-based squad succeeded in rebuilding the Audi R15 Plus since five days of testing were planned in weather conditions that are likely to be similar to those teams will encounter in western France in a little less than three months’ time. This running time was put to good effect to carry out set-up and tyre choice work.

Following their one-two finish together in last weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring, Peugeot and Michelin stayed on in Florida for two additional days to continue their Le Mans programme. The track surface improved gradually and Michelin’s technical staff was able to collect some valuable data.

The next outing for both Audi and Peugeot will be Monza where the two firms hope to define their exact Michelin slick and rain tyre packages for Le Mans.

24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi, Michelin, Peugeot