Audi, Porsche and others test at Sebring this week

Teams from several series of endurance racing have converged at Sebring International Raceway this week for private testing.

Audi and Porsche have crossed the pond to test their new LM P1 machines that will compete head to head in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season. The two teams have set up in opposite locations at the circuit, with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro based at the infield paddock and the Porsche 919 Hybrid working out of the normal paddock. It is believed this is the first time the two cars have run on the same track at the same time, giving the chance for them to directly compare themselves to each other, albeit with unofficial times.

Also testing are several Dunlop-shod teams, trying a new generation of the tire. LM P2 teams Oak Racing, Millennium Racing and Greaves Motorsport are all testing this week. Oak and Millennium will both race in next week's Sebring 12 Hours, on March 15th.

In the GT class, Porsche and BMW are both present. The Stuttgart marque is pulling double duty with the aforementioned 919 Hybrid and the 911 RSR GTLM both on track. Two factory BMW Z4 GT3 cars destined for the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring this summer are also on hand, with works driver Dirk Müller leading the test.

Neither of the Audi and Porsche LM P1s will be present for the upcoming 12-hour classic as the new rules for the Tudor United SportsCar Championship eliminated the class from participating in the series, but the Sebring track is so notoriously hard on man and machine that it remains the ultimate testing ground to prepare for Le Mans in June.