The second testing session of the Prologue for the 2018 World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) kicked off at 9:00 a.m. local time. For this second day, the competitors enjoyed perfect weather despite a few clouds, and the temperature remained steady through the end of the session, reaching 18°C.

Yesterday, the first session came to an end at 6:00 p.m. for all competitors except 13 cars opting to participate in a 30-hour endurance test, including the #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid. After less than 24 hours, the car racked up 636 laps without encountering any particular problems. That's 3,683 kilometers! The goal was to test the stamina of machine and drivers for the 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 16th and 17th.

Aston Martin Racing also took part in the 30-hour endurance test to try out its new Vantage GTE. The #95 driven by Marco Sorensen, Nicki Thiim and Daren Turner completed 658 laps of the Circuit Paul Ricard between yesterday and today for a total of 10 hours of track time and 3,810.4 kilometers. This car is ranked 28th overall and ninth in the LMGTE Pro class.

During the night, SMR Racing's #11 BR Engineering BR1-AER driven by Mikhail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov, third overall, closed the gap with the #8 Toyota. Thanks to a time of 1:37:034, the non-hybrid car is within 2.4 seconds of the Japanese prototype, encouraging news for the Russian team.

Signatech Alpine Matmut took advantage of the second day of testing at this year's Prologue to continue Dunlop's tire development work on a track entirely redone this past winter. The #36 Alpine A470-Gibson was driven by Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Pierre Thiriet, clocking the third best time of the LMP2 class in 1:41:843. Seven LMP2s are set to compete in the 2018-2019 Super Season of the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), but as many as 20 in the class will take the start at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

After suffering a small fire during a pit stop, AF Corse's #51 Ferrari shared by Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado failed to participate in this second day of the 2018 Prologue.

British team TF Sport made its big debut in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) at this year's Prologue. The #90 Aston Martin Vantage driven by Salih Yoluc, Euan Alers-Hankey and Charles Eastwood clocked the seventh fastest time in the LMGTE Am class in 1:24:291 and completed 126 laps.

According to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, the electric energy retrieved by one of its two Toyota TS050 Hybrids after 24 hours of nonstop testing at the Circuit Paul Ricard would be enough to power 291 coffee machines for that many hours. Anybody want a cup?

A new step taken for the #95 Aston Martin Vantage: the car completed 721 laps over the two days of testing within 10 hours. The British manfacturer sent a strong signal to the competition that its car is highly reliable. But, the #82 BMW M8 GTE showed well too, covering a total of 630 laps driven by Augusto Farfus, António Félix da Costa, Alexander Sims and Tom Blomqvist.

Swiss driver Mathias Beche took the wheel of Rebellion Racing's R13-Gibson, sharing the new prototype built by ORECA with André Lotterer, Neel Jani, Bruno Senna, Gustavo Menezes and Thomas Laurent.

Proof the Prologue was a true to life test for the Super Season and 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the race direction organized simulations of yellow flags and unannounced deployments of the safety car. It also served as an excellent rehearsal for track marshals.

Signatech Alpine Matmut team manager Philippe Sinault discussed his team's preparation for the Super Season of the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The French outfit took advantage of the Prologue to test its new tire package and get to know its new recruit, Pierre Thiriet. Signatech Alpine Matmut has great ambitions for the upcoming season.

Where does Jackie Chan DC Racing's #38 ORECA 07-Gibson stand? The prototype shared by Hu-Pin Tung, Gabriel Aubry and Stéphane Richelmi figures 15th overall and sixth in the LMP2 class. The team's other ORECA 07-Gibson, the #38, is ahead of its sister car in the standings.

Below, Pierre Thiriet gives his first impressions of the Signatech Alpine Matmut team and his first laps at the wheel of the #36 Alpine A470-Gibson. 

Dean Stoneman, driver of CEFC TRSM's #5 Ginetta G-60-LT-P1-Mecachrome, was thrilled with the aerodynamic downforce generated by this new LMP1. "I have not experienced that much aerodynamic downforce since I raced a Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi."  With two hours of testing left, the car figured in seventh place overall with a time of 1:39:925.

Here is a stunning clip produced by Michelin Motorsport, a selection of slow-motion images to get a better sense of the incredible efforts of the cars on the track, the teams, the tires and the French manufacturer's engineers.

Enjoy a lap of the Circuit Paul Ricard on board Italian team AF Corse's #71 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO driven by Davide Rigon and Sam Bird. It finished 27th overall and eighth in the LMGTE Pro class.

Strong winds this afternoon prevented competitors from improving their times, so Racing Team Nederland opted to test the aerodynamic kit of its #29 Dallara P217-Gibson destined for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

After the #71 Ferrari, here is a second impressive on-board camera video, this time in SMP Racing's BR Engineering BR1-AER.

This second day of the 2018 Prologue, the official tests of the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), ended in a red flag after American team DragonSpeed's #10 BR Engineering BR1-AER stopped at the Mistral straight.

The #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid clocked the fastest time of the Prologue in 1:32:662 while the #7 TS050 Hybrid participated in a 30-hour endurance test, finishing in second place with a time of 1:34:665. The Japanese prototype completed 839 laps of the Circuit Paul Ricard, or 4,858 kilometers, invaluable preparation for the 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This Prologue marked the big debut of the new generation non-hybrid LMP1 prototypes. SMP Racing's #11 BR Engineering BR1-AER clocked the third best time in 1:37:034 ahead of Swiss team Rebellion Racing's #1 R13-Gibson. SMP Racing's other BR1-AER rounded out the top five. The nine cars in the LMP1 class took the top nine places.

In the LMP2 class, DragonSpeed's #31 ORECA 07-Gibson dominated throughout the Prologue, with a best time of 1:40:771, three-tenths of a second faster than Signatech Alpine Matmut's #36 Alpine A470-Gibson (1:41:088). French team TDS Racing's #28 ORECA 07-Gibson clocked the third fastest time in the class (1:41:227).

There were no changes in the standings in LMGTE Pro. The #91 Porsche 911 RSR finished the Prologue in the lead (1:51:332). The #92 911 RSR finished second (1:51:837) ahead of the #66 Ford GT. The top five in the class are in the same second! The new BMW M8 GTE and Aston Martin Vantage covered kilometers in preparation for the season and this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Lastly, the LMGTE Am class saw Dempsey-Proton Compétition​'s #88 Porsche 911 RSR finish with the best time in 1:52:936 ahead of the team's other 911 RSR (1:53:133).

Pit lane open to fans.

Next, the teams will head to Belgium for the opening round of the championship, the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, May 3rd through the 5th before participating in Test Day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday, June 3rd.

PHOTO (Copyright - MPS Agency/Pascal Saivet)