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Allan McNish and the No. 2 Audi during a practice session in the rain Saturday morning.

BRASELTON, GA –With a wet track, at the start of the race the No. 2 Audi with Allan McNish at the wheel,  jumped the field and the two Peugeots on the front row and went to the front of the class where through the first three hours it has showed itself to be able to run with the Peugeots.

However, as the track has begun to dry out the Peugeot’s have been able to creep back into contention and are currently running second and third. The second place Peugeot driven by Pedro Lamy and Minassian is a mere two seconds behind the Audi and seems to get faster the drier the track becomes.

Weather for Braselton, GA this morning.

BRASELTON, GA — It is still three hours before the start of the 1,000 mile Petite Le Mans at the Road Atlanta track Northeast of Atlanta — and the one thing that everyone knows is that rain will be the focus of the race. After a light rain during the night the skies opened up and drenched the picturesque track starting around 6 a.m.

The morning rain was near a cloud burst with traffic on the freeway into the track reduced for 45-50 mph speeds and a flash flood watch posted for the area. The forecast is for “liquid excitement” all day as ALMS teams prepare for the soggy slog around the red clay of the Georgia Hills.

This may be the rain storm the Audi team was waiting for at Le Mans, where the entire race was run on near balmy weather. The Peugoet team ran the perfect race and essentially left the Ingolstadt Army in its wake.

While Team Peugeot indicated that it was confident that the team had learned its lesson with respect to being able to run in the rain, they did not have to back of their words by racing in the rain.

At the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Peugeot was clearly a faster car on the dry track, but with a rain storm and other issues with the car holding the team, the Audis rallied during the night for the win. While the Audi has had its own issues at the Road Atlanta race, the rain must still be a confidence builder for those who have mastered the art of racing in the rain.