Audi’s Sebring farewell got off on the right note in qualifying with Swiss ace Marcel Fassler scoring pole in the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro today.

The winner of the past two 24 Hours of Le Mans, Fassler will team up with fellow Le Mans double winner Benoit Treluyer and recent Rolex 24 at Daytona GT winner, Oliver Jarvis.

The No.1 Audi was only .009 of a second faster than Allan McNish in the No.2 car. The Scot will drive with Tom Kristensen and Brazilian ex-Formula 1 driver Lucas di Grassi tomorrow.

“It was a really tight battle for the pole. I’m really happy because my car was already great yesterday and I knew I could do it,” Fassler said.

“It was my first qualifying here in Sebring and as everyone knows Sebring isn’t the easiest place to get a quick lap. It is very bumpy and every little mistake will give you a disadvantage.

“You have to do a really clear lap without any mistakes. I had a good lap but it was really tight to Allan – but being first is really cool.”

The No.12 Rebellion Lola scored third in qualifying with Nick Heidfeld ahead of Klaus Graf in the Muscle Milk HPD in fourth.