Rundown of the action from the opening sessions of the Spa 6 Hours

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The FIA World Endurance Championship made its eagerly-anticipated return to racing this afternoon for the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

In very warm and dry track conditions, 29 cars took to the 4.352 mile (7.004km) track for the first free practice session of the three-day race meeting.

#1 REBELLION RACING – Rebellion R13 – Gibson: Bruno Senna, Gustavo Menezes, Norman Nato Free Practice 1, TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, Spa Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium

LMP1

– Rebellion Racing placed on top in LMP1 as French driver Noman Nato set a time of 2:02.488 early on in the No. 1 Rebellion R13 Gibson he shares with Bruno Senna and Gustavo Menezes
– ByKolles Racing Team’s No. 4 second quickest with Oli Webb at the wheel of the Enso CLM P1/01, 1.046s behind Nato’s pace-setting time
– No. 7 and No 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 HYBRID cars third and fourth fastest, hampered by the success handicap system

LMGTE Pro

– In LMGTE Pro Porsche lead the way, with Michael Christensen setting a lap time of 2:16.057 in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR – 19 he shares with Kevin Estre
– Aston Martin Racing clocked the second fastest time with home driver Maxime Martin at the wheel of the No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR he shares with Alex Lynn
– Martin’s lap was 0.41s ahead of the No.91 Porsche driven by Gimmi Bruni and Richard Lietz
– AF Corse Ferrari placed fourth with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi driving the No. 51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

LMP2

– Racing Team Nederland top LMP2 times as Giedo Van Der Garde sets the pace early in the session with a time of 2:03.888 in the ORECA 07 – Gibson
– The Dutch team completed a total of 36 laps during the session – most out of all the teams competing
– No. 38 JOTA Sport car entry second quickest as Anthony Davidson posted a second-fastest time of 2:03.935 on fresh Goodyear tyres
– Third in LMP2 was category leaders United Autosport as Phil Hanson posted a time of 2:04.119 early in the session

LMGTE Am

– The No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo driven by Nicklas Nielsen set the pace out of the 10 LMGTE Am entries, the Dane setting an unbeatable time of 2:17.853
– No. 98 Aston Martin Racing shared by Paul Dalla Lana, Augusto Farfus and Ross Gunn was second fastest with a time of 2:18.020
– Third quickest was the No. 56 Team Project 1 entry with Matteo Cairoli piloting the Porsche 911 RSR which is sporting a new Mentos-themed livery for this event
– Several of the teams across the LMGTE Am and GTE Pro classes were given black and white flags or stop and go penalties for abusing track limits throughout the session