The CytoSport Lola-Aston Martin and works Corvettes were again quickest in LMP and GTE, respectively, on the second and final day of testing for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Thursday.
Driving their new car for the first time this week, CytoSport's Greg Pickett, Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr led the way in all four sessions during the two-day test, with Luhr eventually setting the fastest time with a 1m49.997sec on the final afternoon.
"I think we achieved what we wanted to accomplish," said Graf. "All three drivers got comfortable with the car and we gave Lucas a little bit more seat time because he won't be at the test in a couple of weeks. Greg came quickly up to speed as well.
"We became familiar with the car and we learned a lot and that was the main objective coming here. We finished every session on top of the charts which is satisfying and that's a good starting point going into the season."
The only other LMP1 team present was Dyson, with the likes of Audi, Peugeot, Aston Martin, Highcroft and Rebellion – all of whom have entered Sebring – choosing not to participate in the first official test.
Dyson Racing officially confirmed during the test that Jay Cochran would be its third driver for this year's endurance races, and the American joined teammates Guy Smith and Chris Dyson in the Lola-Mazda as the squad lapped 0.208sec slower than Luhr.
The factory Corvettes were quickest in GTE in one session each yesterday, with the Flying Lizard and Falken Porsches their closest challengers. Risi showed the potential of the new Ferrari 458 as Jaime Melo and Toni Vilander took the test car to fourth in GT on Thursday afternoon, just 0.4sec off the leading Corvette. Olivier Beretta turned a 2:02.186 in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R in the final minutes of Thursday's rain-shortened afternoon session.
"We had many things to test, and we stayed with our plan," said Beretta. "Sometimes when you are testing, you know it is not the right direction, but you have to keep going. At one point I was like a fish out of water, but my engineers were 100 percent sure of what they were doing. They told me to be patient, and when they put everything together, the car was very quick."
A massive field of 60 cars is now expected for the race itself, which this year is the opening round of both the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the American Le Mans Series. There are two further days of testing on March 13-14, before the event officially kicks off with practice sessions on March 17.