BRASLETON, Ga. -- The all-new Acura sports car teams, led by 12 Hours of Sebring winners Andretti Green Racing, come to Road Atlanta this weekend, Oct. 4-6, in search of another victory celebration in one of the season’s biggest sports car classics, the 10th annual Petit Le Mans.

The three Acura racing organizations, AGR, Lowe’s Fernandez Racing and Highcroft Racing, debuted their new prototype sports cars in 2007 when the automaker made its first appearance in the tough American Le Mans Series earlier this year at Sebring. In the season opener, drivers Bryan Herta, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti drove the No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01a to the LMP2 class victory and second overall in the grueling 12-hour contest on the air strip south of Orlando.

The victory was stunning in many ways for Acura. Winning on the rough Sebring circuit was impressive. But winning in Acura’s very first sports car event was spectacular.

“Winning the first race at Sebring (with Andretti Green in the LMP2 class and second overall) was hard to believe and that was quite an accomplishment for the new Acura program,” said Robert Clarke, president, Honda Performance Development. “When you win the season opener, you feel that you can win some races. But we were realistic about the 2007 season. We weren’t looking for on-track results. This was a learning year for us.” Clarke is optimistic about the Acura squads on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta circuit.

“At Road Atlanta, I expect the Acura teams will be contending for a win,” said Clarke. “We are out of the championship this year. Learning the ALMS series and sports car racing in general was the goal in 2007 for Acura. But I believe we have an outstanding driver lineup for the Petit Le Mans. Our teams are ready for long race.” The Acura drivers come to Road Atlanta with sensational racing resumes. They hope to add the Petit title to their win lists on Saturday in the ten-hour event.

Franchitti, the current Indy 500 champion, has left the AGR group to racing in NASCAR in 2008. Kanaan, the 2004 IndyCar Series titlist, won at Sebring, five IndyCar races in 2007 and finished third in the IndyCar points. Herta has won in ALMS, IndyCar, CART, Indy Lights and Barber Saab during his racing career. Brazilian star Vitor Meira, who drove to third overall in last year’s Petit Le Mans in his only ALMS start, will join Kanaan and Herta in the AGR Acura this weekend at Road Atlanta. Adrian Fernandez, co-owner and driver of the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura Lola, is a veteran of open-wheel and sports cars. The popular Mexican debuted in ALMS this year with a third overall at Sebring and a podium finish at Mid-Ohio with Luis Diaz.

Highcroft Racing drivers David Brabham and Stefan Johansson, former Formula One standouts, bring their mount, the No. 9 Highcroft Acura ARX-01a, with four podium finishes already in 2007. Brabham, the 1999 Petit winner, won the overall pole in the streets of Houston and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. Johansson finished second in last year’s Petit event. British open-wheel star Robbie Kerr will team up with the Highcroft drivers for the Petit race.