Class pole positions Franchitti, Jeannette, Muller and Keen
Marc Gene’s first trip to Sebring International Raceway has been a productive one already. The Spanish star qualified on pole position for the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida with a lap of 1:45.214 (126.599 mph) for Team Peugeot Total, beating out teammate Nic Minassian by 0.627 seconds.
The two diesel-powered factory Peugeot 908 HDI FAPs will start from the front row for the opening round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. A victory in Saturday will mean the French manufacturer holds current championships in all three of the world’s endurance classics.
Gene will drive with fellow reigning Le Mans 24 Hours winner Alexander Wurz and Anthony Davidson. Only Davidson has competed in the 12 Hours while the trio of Minassian, Sebastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy in the sister car have 18 starts between them.
“I was very worried before coming here because I had heard so much about it,” Gene said. “There were the bumps, the fast curves. I tried to play it on video games but I had to play it so much! Then I moved on to videos and Nic helped me a lot. If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have won pole position.”
