Audi all the way in first qualifying.

As expected, Audis dominated the first two qualifying sessions for this weekend's Le Mans, with only the Johansson example missing out on the party.

While the blue-and-orange Gulf-backed R8 languished in a disappointing eighth position, the two works cars headed the American Champion example at the head of the field, as the 2000 pole time was obliterated by pace-setter Tom Kristensen.

The Dane may have been pipped for top honours after the opening two-hour dusk session, but roared back early in the second to post a mesmerising 1min 32.458secs lap - some four seconds inside the mark set by erstwhile team-mate Allan McNish twelve months ago.

The day was not without its problems for Reinhold Joest's team, however, as both its car suffered problems one sort or another before going on to head the times. The Kristensen car - which the Dane shares with his victorious co-drivers of last year Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro - had to overcome a first session misfire before being a position to overhaul the #2 entry that topped the opening two hours in the hands of ALMS points leader Rinaldo Capello.

The Italian's car then suffered power steering failure as he handed over to compatriot, and Audi newcomer, Christian Pescatori at the end of the second session, preventing the reigning SWRC champion from assaulting Kristensen's marker.

The Champion car, in third, also had its share of trouble, requiring a complete gearbox change in the opening session. Similar in nature to the problem which cost the second and third-placed Audis time in last year's race, the replacement kept the Johnny Herbert-led squad off the track for some time, before Ralf Kelleners made up for its absence by taking fourth in the first classification, and third in the second. The rapid German then handed over to Herbert and co-driver Didier Theys after dark, with the Briton enduring one trip down the escape road at the Playstation chicane but recovering to keep the car in the session.

Fourth place went to the impressive Dome-Judd of Jan Lammers' Racing for Holland team, with the Dutchman himself putting in the time that marked the dramatic black-and-white chequered car out as the main threat to the Audis. Any hope of regaining the third place it held before the break was lost, however, when the car coasted to a halt at the Dunlop Bridge in Donny Crevels' hands midway through the second session.

Lammers' pace was sufficient, however, to keep the Dome ahead of its likely rivals, headed on this occasion by the first of the three new Chrysler prototypes. Last year's GTS class winners, Olivier Beretta and Karl Wendlinger led the way for the ORECA-run Team Playstation entry, clocking up fifth fastest time late in the night session to pip the leading Bentley and sit just one-tenth back of Lammers.

Bentley had already made an impressive return to La Sarthe, as Martin Brundle, Andy Wallace and Eric van de Poele confirmed the EXP Speed 8's potential early in the first session. Each took turns to put in times to rival the Audis' best efforts at that point, before concentrating on other matters rather than outright pace.

Brundle appeared to be going for a time, along with van de Poele, right at the end of the first session, but found traffic preventing him from bettering his earlier mark, and then went off in the second as a puncture caused him a moment on the Mulsanne straight. Although the car was able to recover from the gravel trap, conditions were then past their best for quick times and Brundle had to make do with sixth.

This put the F1 commentator one place ahead of the sister car which, in turn, finished ahead of the fourth and final Audi. Running an older-spec car to those at the front of the field, Stefan Johansson and the Arena Motorsport team reported few problems with the Gulf car, but never managed to find the sort of pace to trouble the front runners.

It was, at least, good enough to avoid the sort of embarrassment heaped up the likes of Panoz, which finished well down the order after a fraught practice - and found itself being out-paced by the best of the LMP675 cars. The two red LMP 900 roadsters finished the day down in 22nd and 25th overall, leaving lead drivers David Brabham and Jan Magnussen scratching their heads and hoping for a miracle on Thursday.

Leading the LMP675 class was the surprising form of MG-Lola. The smart black-and-green EX257 had barely managed to complete a lap at the pre-event test day, but stunned the paddock by lapping some six seconds faster than its class rivals in the opening session. With Anthony Reid at the wheel, the #34 entry mixed it with the bulk of the LMP900 category, before settling for twelfth at the break. A suspected blocked fuel filter then caused the car to grind to a halt on the Mulsanne in the second session.

The other MG entry had failed to break 13 minutes on its first outing, leaving it bottom of the field, but bounced back once Mark Blundell got into his stride to become the second fastest car in the class at the end of the day. This, allied to Reid's problems, left the Chamberlain Motorsport-run effort in 14th and 17th overall.

Next up in LMP675 were not the expected Dick Barbour Racing Reynards, which disappointed somewhat in 23rd and 30th, but the sole ROC-VW of Gene/Fabre/Deletraz. The closest challengers to Reid in the opening session - albeit some six seconds off the MG driver's pace - the trio could not improve as temperatures and visibility dropped, leaving it behind both EX257s at the close.

Separating Reid's MG from the Johansson Audi were two Courages - the lead Pescarolo effort trailing of the SMG example - with both DAMS Cadillacs sandwiched in between. The first of the ORECA Team Viper cars - that led by four-time race winner Yannick Dalmas - also helped fill the gap.

Heading the GTS class initially was Ron Fellows in the first of the yellow Corvette C5-Rs, but the burly Canadian fell from grace early in the second session when his car pitched itself off the road at the second Mulsanne chicane, incurring heavy rear end damage and preventing co-driver's Scott Pruett and Johnny O'Connell from getting out in the darkest conditions. Fellows was thankfully unhurt in the incident, but left the Corvette Racing crew with a long night's work.

His demise allowed the Saleen assault to take line honours on day one, with Oliver Gavin putting in a sparkling lap prior to the Corvette's exit to snatch class pole for the Saleen-Allen Speedlabs team. The lanky Briton lapped almost 1.5secs quicker than rest of the class, which was still headed by Fellows' effort after the second Corvette also suffered problems.

With the best of the previously unbeatable Chrysler Vipers down in fourth - in the hands of Christophe Bouchut - the destiny of class honours looks likely to be fought out between Corvette and Saleen, but so far only one of the big American supercars has taken the challenge to the Gary Pratt-run C5-Rs. Both the Konrad and RML cars endured niggling problems in the session, and were unable to mount a concerted attack on pole.

GT class honours bounced around several contenders before settling with the Callaway C12 fielded by the Aspen Knolls/MCR team. The crowd-pleasing machine trailed a succession of Porsche GT3-Rs throughout the first session, before overhauling the Larbre example of Patrice Goueslard to take provisional pole. Cort Wagner, drafted in to replace injured former team-mate Shane Lewis was credited with fastest lap.

Rain is being predicted for tomorrow night's qualifying sessions, so the action could be swift and early as the 48 teams attempt to better their lot for the race.

It is unlikely that the Audis will be shifted from the head of the field, however, such was the German marque's domination of day one, and the rest of the grid must already be eyeing a top five spot rather than one on the podium...