French Automaker to Run Its Innovative Diesels at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

French automaker Peugeot has announced will enter the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with its two exotic diesel-powered 908 HDi factory prototypes. This classic event takes place Saturday, March 21, 2009, on a 3.7 mile paved course at the Sebring International Raceway, in Sebring, Florida. Called 'America's greatest sport's car race', the 12-hour-long endurance race is presented by Fresh from Florida. This year marks the second trip for Peugeot's team of diesel coupes, after their debut in last year's Sebring race; one of the 908s finished in the 11th overall position and the second finished 4th in class. The dual Peugeot coupes will face off against new P1 entries, with two Acura ARX-02a and two of Audi's R15 TDI diesel prototypes on the roster, as well. One of the Peugeot coupes also finished second overall behind Audi at Road Atlanta's Petit Le Mans in another classic endurance duel.

"The Confirmation of Peugeot's entries only adds to what already will be an outstanding event to start the second decade of the American Le Mans Series," said Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the American LeMans Series, speaking about the upcoming event, which is the 100th-all-time race. He reminded those who bore witness to last year's Sebring and Le Mans races that the Peugeot entries were energized with an 'electricity'.

For the upcoming race, each 908 HDi will have a 3-member team of drivers; Nic Minassian, Pedro Lamy and Christian Klien in one, and Franck Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin and Sebastien Bourdais in the second. Bourdais holds a class victory at Sebring in 2006 in GT2 with Panoz.

The 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will be televised live from 10am to noon and 2pm to 11pm on the Speed Channel. Live timing and scoring will also be available at www.americanlemans.com. For further information, go to www.sebringraceway.com

--Sue Mead