By the end of the two productive days during which the 919 Hybrid did not experience even the smallest mechanical problem, Brendon Hartley took advantage of a final stint Saturday afternoon to improve the time of his Porsche teammate Romain Dumas, and to clock the best time of the Prologue in 1:37:445. The German manufacturer covered more than 2,000 kilometers (376 laps) and proved to be the only one capable of going below 1:38:00. Though the demonstration of power was impressive, it was not enough to destabilize the Toyota and Audi outfits who followed their marching orders without trying to go after Porsche in terms of performance.

Toyota president Toshio Sato: "This Prologue was an important step and we are leaving with what we came for, meaning a better understanding of our aerodynamic ensemble. I am satisfied with how these two days unfolded." As much in terms of number of kilometers covered (1,547 km) as in time (third time at 0:828), the Japanese manufacturer is the second strongest force for now.

Among the factory LM P1s, the new R18 performed the poorest as a result of mechanical problems cutting its time on the track (1,363 km). No need to panic though for technical director Jorg Zander's team who knows to count on the several testing sessions to come as preparation leading up to the kickoff of the championship at Silverstone on April 17th. As for private teams, the two Rebellion R-Ones came in at 4:288 and 4:702, just ahead of Team ByKOLLES' CLM/P1 at 5:791. Remember these three cars are now equipped with Dunlop tyres, whereas the factory teams use Michelin.

In a highly contested LM P2 class, the last word went to the Alpine A460 entered by Signatech which clocked the best time with only a 0:002 second lead on Strakka Racing's Gibson 015S. The thrid time went to G-Drive Racing's Oreca 05 in 0:048. The first Ligier-RGR Sport came in fifth ahead of the Oreca of the Manor outfit debuting in the discipline.

In LM GTE Pro, AF Corse's Ferrari 488 GTE was at the top of the timesheet, the No. 18 of Bruni/Calado ahead of the No. 19 of Rigon/Bird. The two Ford GTs of the Chip Ganassi Team followed in third and fourth places, the No. 21 driven by French driver Olivier Pla was ahead of the No. 22.

Lastly, in the LM GTE Am class, the Corvette of Larbre Compétition had the best time despite a Prologue shortened by a full day. Gulf Racing's Porsche 911 RSR clocked the second best time ahead of AF Corse's Ferrari F458 Italia driven by Emmanuel Collard.
 

Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO