Zytek takes fight to Audi.

The little 'works' Zytek 04S proved that its showing in the opening round of the new Le Mans Endurance Series at Monza was no fluke by taking the fight to the four customer Audis as the battle for pole position at the Le Mans 24 Hours warmed up nicely on Thursday evening.

Having spent most of the opening night attempting to find a good handling and aero balance - and lapping six seconds off its impressive pre-race test pace from April - the team ensured that each of its three drivers - David Brabham, Andy Wallace and Hayanari Shimoda - completed the necessary laps after dark to guarantee them a role in the race and clear the way for a concerted assault on the front row on Thursday.

The team's two attempts at a quick lap in the opening two sessions had been spoilt by other cars going off the road and depositing gravel on the track as they rejoined, so it kept two sets of qualifying tyres back for the final night, and Brabham rewarded its optimism by moving up from its overnight ninth spot.

Although daytime rain was initially expected to thwart any real improvements, the Zytek soon established its credentials as an Audi-beater and, after being baulked on his first attempted run, Brabham finally got a clear lap on qualifying tyres to set the quickest time by any car up to that point. The Australian's 3min 33.9secs effort actually vaulted the black prototype from eleventh to provisional pole in one fell swoop - and got the Audi teams more than a little worried as their 1-2-3-4 domination was broken.

"We deliberately saved our qualifying attempts for tonight, and spent yesterday working on race set-ups," Brabham confirmed, "This car, on qualifying tyres, is fantastic. It's so light. It makes it very easy to drive and it's very rewarding."

The four Audi teams proceeded to use many sets of qualifying tyres to try to reclaim pole position and, eventually, the two Audi UK Team Veloqx R8s succeeded in moving ahead of the Zytek Engineering entry. Nevertheless, the 'factory' car will start the race from third position, having seen off the Champion and Team Goh cars.

The team reported that its innovative all-electric assisted gearshift system was running well and that each of the three drivers were able to set good race pace laps. The fresh engine installed on Thursday morning in time for qualifying session ran strongly and its power output and driveability both received positive comments from all three drivers. The same unit will now to be used for the race.