Alonso Tops opening WEC practice at Spa
 |
| #8 Toyota |
Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap in his maiden FIA World Endurance Championship session at Spa-Francorchamps, in preparation for Saturday’s Total Six Hours of Spa.
The two-time Formula One world champion posted a time of 1:58.392 midway through the 90-minute Free Practice 1 on Thursday to give Toyota the early edge in LMP1.
Alonso’s teammate Sebastien Buemi set the initial pace with a 1:59.072, but that was soon bested by the Spaniard shortly after he took over the No. 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid.
Alonso first went quickest after turning in a 1:58.491 but continued to improve and shaved that number down by a tenth during his 16-lap stint behind the wheel.
Toyota’s sister No. 7 car was second quickest, with Mike Conway clocking in 0.237 seconds behind.
The No. 3 Rebellion R13 Gibson of Thomas Laurent was the quickest non-hybrid, having set a time of 1:58.849 that was nearly a half-second off the ultimate pace.
Results
| Pos | Class | Driver | Car | Time/Behind | Laps |
| 1 | LMP1 | S.Buemi, K.Nakajima, F.Alonso | Toyota | 1m58.392s | 35 |
| 2 | LMP1 | M.Conway, K.Kobayashi, J.M.Lopez | Toyota | 0.237s | 36 |
| 3 | LMP1 | M.Beche, T.Laurent, G.Menezes | Rebellion/Gibson | 0.457s | 32 |
| 4 | LMP1 | H.Hedman, B.Hanley, P.Fittipaldi | BR Engineering/Gibson | 0.929s | 30 |
| 5 | LMP1 | N.Jani, A.Lotterer, B.Senna | Rebellion/Gibson | 1.289s | 24 |
| 6 | LMP1 | O.Webb, D.Kraihamer, T.Dillmann | ENSO CLM/NISMO | 1.740s | 18 |
| 7 | LMP1 | S.Sarrazin, E.Orudzhev, M.Isaakyan | BR Engineering/AER | 3.107s | 9 |
| 8 | LMP2 | R.Gonzalez, P.Maldonado, N.Berthon | ORECA/Gibson | 5.102s | 28 |
| 9 | LMP1 | M.Aleshin, V.Petrov | BR Engineering/AER | 5.514s | 11 |
| 10 | LMP2 | N.Lapierre, A.Negrao, P.Thiriet | Alpine/Gibson | 5.742s | 27 |
| 11 | LMP2 | R.Rusinov, J-E.Vergne, A.Pizzitola | ORECA/Gibson | 5.806s | 28 |
| 12 | LMP2 | J.Jaafar, W.Tan, N.Jeffri | ORECA/Gibson | 5.989s | 28 |
| 13 | LMP2 | H-Pin Tung, G.Aubry, S.Richelmi | ORECA/Gibson | 6.166s | 30 |
| 14 | LMP2 | F.van Eerd, G.van der Garde, J.Lammers | Dallara/Gibson | 6.301s | 24 |
| 15 | LMP2 | F.Perrodo, M.Vaxiviere, L.Duval | ORECA/Gibson | 6.334s | 36 |
| 16 | LMP2 | E.Creed, R.Ricci, J.Canal | Ligier/Gibson | 8.119s | 25 |
| 17 | GTE Pro | A.Priaulx, H.Tincknell, T.Kanaan | Ford | 16.622s | 30 |
| 18 | GTE Pro | S.Mucke, O.Pla, B.Johnson | Ford | 16.881s | 30 |
| 19 | GTE Pro | R.Lietz, G.Bruni | Porsche | 17.239s | 29 |
| 20 | GTE Pro | M.Christensen, K.Estre | Porsche | 17.325s | 26 |
| 21 | GTE Pro | A.P.Guidi, J.Calado | Ferrari | 18.005s | 25 |
| 22 | GTE Am | K.Al Qubaisi, G.Roda, M.Cairoli | Porsche | 18.209s | 32 |
| 23 | GTE Pro | T.Blomqvist, A.F.da Costa | BMW | 18.214s | 33 |
| 24 | GTE Pro | D.Rigon, S.Bird | Ferrari | 18.397s | 25 |
| 25 | GTE Am | M.Wainwright, B.Barker, A.Davison | Porsche | 19.160s | 30 |
| 26 | GTE Pro | M.Tomczyk, N.Catsburg | BMW | 19.420s | 31 |
| 27 | GTE Pro | A.Lynn, M.Martin, J.Adam | Aston Martin | 19.601s | 33 |
| 28 | GTE Am | C.Ried, J.Andlauer, M.Campbell | Porsche | 19.614s | 27 |
| 29 | GTE Am | J.Bergmeister, P.Lindsey, E.Perfetti | Porsche | 19.716s | 29 |
| 30 | GTE Pro | M.Sorensen, N.Thiim, D.Turner | Aston Martin | 19.835s | 31 |
| 31 | GTE Am | S.Yoluc, E.Hankey, C.Eastwood | Aston Martin | 19.963s | 33 |
| 32 | GTE Am | P.D.Lana, P.Lamy, M.Lauda | Aston Martin | 20.066s | 34 |
| 33 | GTE Am | Mok W.S., K.Sawa, M.Griffin | Ferrari | 20.755s | 29 |
| 34 | GTE Am | M.Ishikawa, O.Beretta, E.Cheever | Ferrari | 20.925s | 32 |
| 35 | GTE Am | T.Flohr, F.Castellacci, G.Fisichella | Ferrari | 21.908s | 31 |
| 36 | LMP1 | C.Robertson, D.Stoneman | Ginetta/Mecachrome | – | 1 |
| 37 | LMP1 | O.Rowland, A.Brundle, O.Turvey | Ginetta/Mecachrome | – | 1 |