Deprived of Test Day, almost the entire field was soon out eating up the miles and getting familiar with the circuit once again. Caution was, however, the watchword. Each team elected to send out its experienced hands for this initial brush with the full circuit, more than 15 months after the 2019 race. 

Sébastien Buemi quickly moved to the top of the timesheets with the first benchmark lap of 3:30.925. The #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid, shortly followed by its #8 sister car, then took a stranglehold on proceedings with times of 3:22.280 and 3:22.908. With 30 minutes of the session left, Brendon Hartley made his mark. The newcomer to the team, replacing Fernando Alonso, immediately produced a time of 3:21.951. Still a long way off the 2019 pole-setting time of 3:15.497 clocked by Kamui Kobayashi, but it is a sign that the Japanese powerhouse is stepping up to the plate. Teammate Kazuki Nakajima then shaved a fraction off Hartley’s time (3:21.656). He was undoubtedly preparing to go faster still as conditions improved, but slow zones resulting from track incidents kept him in check. 

In LMP2, the #29 Oreca 07-Gibson fielded by Racing Team Nederland (Frits van Eerd/Giedo van der Garde/Nyck de Vries) was quickest for most of the session. But with less than 20 minutes left on the clock, Kenta Yamashita moved High Class Racing’s #33 Oreca 07-Gibson to the top. Those two cars were the only ones in the LMP2 field to dip under the magic 3:30 mark.

Aston Martin Racing soon took control of the LMGTE Pro class with the #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Maxime Martin/Alex Lynn/Harry Tincknell leading its #95 sister car, driven by Nicki Thiim/Marco Sørensen/Richard Westbrook. In the absence of Corvette Racing, the class will be a three-way battle between Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin, with the British outfit the most comfortable for the moment. The Gaydon-based team wrapped up a busy session with 36 laps on the clock of both cars. 

Aston Martin Racing led the way in LMGTE Am too. Recording a time of 3:55.484, the #98 even bettered a few of the LMGTE Pro entries. The session was halted for around twenty minutes by a red flag after Steve Brooks went off in the #89 Porsche 911 RSR entered by Team Project 1 (LMGTE Am). 

Statisticians will note that 55 of the 59 entries went round in under four minutes. Eurointernational’s #11 Ligier JS P217-Gibson with its line-up of Adrien Tambay/Erik Maris/Christophe d’Ansembourg, spent least time on the Le Mans asphalt, but three more practice sessions (plus qualifying) lie ahead before Saturday.

LMP1

1. #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid – Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi/Kazuki Nakajima/Brendon Hartley (3:21.656)
2. #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid – Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Jose-Maria Lopez (3:21.990)
3. #1 Rebellion R13-Gibson – Rebellion Racing – Bruno Senna/Norman Nato/Gustavo Menezes (3:23.155)

LMP2

1. #33 Oreca 07-Gibson – High Class Racing – Kenta Yamashita/Mark Patterson/Anders Fjordbach (3:29.873)
2. #29 Oreca 07-Gibson – Racing Team Nederland – Frits van Eerd/Giedo van der Garde/Nyck de Vries (3:29.918)
3. #38 Oreca 07-Gibson – JOTA – Anthony Davidson/Antonio-Felix Da Costa/Roberto Gonzalez (3:31.206)

LMGTE Pro

1. #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Aston Martin Racing – Maxime Martin/Alex Lynn/Harry Tincknell (3:53.930)
2. #95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Aston Martin Racing – Nicki Thiim/Marco Sørensen/Richard Westbrook (3:54.992)
3. #51 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Daniel Serra (3:55.186)

LMGTE Am

1. #98 Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Aston Martin Racing – Paul Dalla Lana/Ross Gunn/Agusto Farfus (3:55.484)
2. #72 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – Hub Auto Racing – Morris Chen/Tom Blomqvist/Marcos Gomes (3:56.350)
3. #70 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – MR Racing – Takeshi Kimura/Vincent Abril/Kei Cozzolino (3:56.609)