Adrian Fernandez qualified the No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX sixth in class and 11th overall for Saturday's Petit Le Mans. Fernandez managed to break into the 67-second range for the first time in the 25-minute qualifying session with a 67.866-second lap. He was looking for an additional three-tenths of a second to chase down the fourth-ranked No. 26 Acura of Andretti Green's Franck Montagny, but a spin in turn 6 in the closing stages relinquished his bid.

Luis Diaz started Saturday's 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic, which marks the debut of Michel Jourdain with the squad. Focusing on race setup, the trio have made steady gains since beginning their testing program last Saturday with Fernandez claiming the second-fastest time in class (fifth overall) in the one-hour, 45-minute night practice session.

QUALIFYING RESULTS (OVERALL)

1. Minassian/Sarrazin/Klein, LMP1 Peugeot 908 66.242 = 138.039 mph

2. Capello/McNish/Pirro, LMP1 Audi R10/TDI 66.327 = 137.862 mph

3. Luhr/Werner, LMP1 Audi R10/TDI 66.818 = 136.849 mph

4. Castroneves/Briscoe, LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder 67.061 = 136.353 mph

11. Fernandez/Diaz/Jourdain, LMP2 Lowe's Acura 67.866 = 134.736 mph

QUOTABLE

Adrian Fernandez, No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX: "I spun twice in qualifying, which is very uncharacteristic of me, but I was just pushing hard. I was down on my lap time on my last lap and just kept my foot on it and the car didn't take it. I spun in turn 6. I knew what I had to do, came very hot into the corner and the rear didn't stay with me and I lost it. For the race, I think we have a good race car."

Luis Diaz, No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX: "It has not been an easy week so far for anybody. There have been a lot of crashes and the traffic out there has been brutal, worse than any other place. It has been a challenge, but so far we have had a clean week and that has been the plan. We tried not to take too many risks. Looking to the race, I know that we are well-prepared. We have done everything possible to make sure that the car is good for the end. Now, I think it is just a matter of luck. I don't think any of us will go out to break records right away or do something crazy, and I am feeling pretty confident. Maybe we haven't always showed the speed this week, but we have done a pretty good job."

Michel Jourdain Jr., No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX: "I feel I am getting better and better. My job for this race is mainly to help Adrian and Luis rest and make sure they are good for the end. I am trying to be quite conservative and driving on the conservative side -- still to be fast but to try to not make any mistakes. I would rather lose a couple of tenths a lap making sure I am clean rather than lose a nose and lose five minutes as a best-case scenario. I really like these cars. They are fantastic. Lowe's Fernandez Racing is such a great team. I am really enjoying working with everyone here and the track is a lot of fun, so I am very happy."