After a quick lunch break, the pair of Toyota TS050s were first back out on to the track at 2 pm. A condensed programme means that there is not a second of track time to waste. Kazuki Nakajima in #8 and Kamui Kobayashi in #7 quickly set out their stall with times of 3:22.511 and 3:22.532 respectively.

With conditions ideal (air temperature nudging 30°C and a track temperature of 43°C), the morning session’s benchmarks were soon eclipsed. With Toyota in control, the #3 Rebellion R13-Gibson driven by Romain Dumas/Nathanaël Berthon/Louis Delétraz attempted to follow, but not the #1 sister car which was undergoing an engine change after a lone lap at the start of the session. 

The session ended with the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid of Sébastien Buemi/Kazuki Nakajima/Brendon Hartley timed at 3:19.719, the fastest mark of the day so far. Mike Conway was second with 3:20.611. 

The second free practice session showed that the LMP2 class will be as hotly disputed as ever. The #29 Oreca 07-Gibson of Racing Team Nederland (Frits van Eerd/Giedo van der Garde/Nyck de Vries) topped the time sheets, moving ahead of an LMP1 – the #4 Enso CLM P1/01-Gibson fielded by the ByKolles Racing Team of Tom Dillmann/Bruno Spengler/Oliver Webb. The Dutch crew’s lead is a fragile one with the next 15 cars – including Jackie Chan DC Racing, JOTA and United Autosports – bunched within a five-second margin. With only six tickets for Hyperpole, the qualifying session promises to be some battle.

The IDEC Sport LMP2s also featured prominently in the session, but for the wrong reasons. Paul Lafargue in the #28 Oreca 07-Gibson was the first to cause a red flag. He crashed out at the second Mulsanne Straight chicane just before 3 pm. Some 40 minutes later, Dwight Merriman left the track in the #17 Oreca 07-Gibson. The French outfit’s two cars were returned to the pits with significant damage.

After dominating the morning session, would Aston Martin rule the afternoon session too? No! Lap times were generally much quicker in both GTE classes, but this time the British machines didn’t have it all their own way.

The #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR driven by  Maxime Martin/Alex Lynn/Harry Tincknell was this time the only one to make the top 3 in the LMGTE Pro class. The two works Porsche 911 RSRs cranked up the power in the second session with Michael Christensen in the #92 car leading the way in 3:52.783. The Porsche GT Team’s #91 entry was third fastest. 

In LMGTE Am, the first Aston Martin Vantage AMR was not even on the podium this time round. The #98 of Paul Dalla Lana/Ross Gunn/Augusto Farfus managed to hold out for a while, but the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR of Christian Ried/Riccardo Pera/Matt Campbell that came out on top ahead of Luzich Racing’s #61 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of Francesco Piovanetti/Oswaldo Negri/Come Ledogar. 

LMP1

1. #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid – Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi/Kazuki Nakajima/Brendon Hartley (3:19.719)
2. #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid – Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Jose-Maria Lopez (3:20.611)
3. #3 Rebellion R13-Gibson – Rebellion Racing – Bruno Senna/Norman Nato/Gustavo Menezes (3:23.175)

LMP2

1. #29 Oreca 07-Gibson – Racing Team Nederland – Frits van Eerd/Giedo van der Garde/Nyck de Vries (3:27.185 – 4th overall)
2. #37 Oreca 07-Gibson – Jackie Chan DC Racing – Ho Pin Tung/Gabriel Aubry/Will Stevens (3:28.011 – 6th overall)
3. #38 Oreca 07-Gibson – JOTA – Anthony Davidson/Antonio-Felix Da Costa/Roberto Gonzalez (3:28.450 – 7th over)

LMGTE Pro

1. #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 – Porsche GT Team – Michael Christensen/Kevin Estre/Laurens Vanthoor (3:52"783 – 29th overall)
2. #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR – Aston Martin Racing – Maxime Martin/Alex Lynn/Harry Tincknell (3:53.346 – 30th overall)
3. #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 – Porsche GT Team – Gianmaria Bruni/Richard Lietz/Frédéric Makowiecki (31st overall)

LMGTE Am

1. #77 Porsche 911 RSR – Dempsey Proton Racing – Christian Ried/Riccardo Pera/Matt Campbell (3:53.961– 33rd overall)
2. #61 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – Luzich Racing – Francesco Piovanetti/Oswaldo Negri/Come Ledogar (3:54.901 – 38th overall)
3. #86 Porsche 911 RSR – Gulf Racing – Michael Wainwright/Benjamin Barker/Andrew Watson (3:55.061 – 39th overall)