Toyota tops opening WEC Prologue day

Toyota Gazoo Racing set the fastest time in the first day of the 2017 FIA WEC Prologue test at Monza. Mike Conway managed the best time of the runners in the #7 TS050 during the second session of the day, a 1m31.332s on only his second flying lap.

Time for some#Prologuevideo action! Our TS050 having a party in the park@Autodromo_Monza@FIAWECpic.twitter.com/mSAVhaanOR— TOYOTA WEC Team (@Toyota_Hybrid)April 1, 2017

The ex-IndyCar driver's tour was just over three tenths faster than the other three factory LMP1 runners. The closest car was the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid, after Neel Jani set a 1m31.666s early in the night session before a thunderstorm arrived and caused the majority of the teams to sit out the remainder of the night running.

Finally the wheels are turning@FIAWEC#Prologue2017. Watch the new#Porsche#919Hybridin action@Autodromo_Monza@PorscheNewsroompic.twitter.com/m8WGvJyAqj— Porsche LMP1 Team (@Porsche_Team)April 1, 2017

Third fastest was the second of the Porsche 919s, its best lap coming in the opening minutes of Session 3, with 2015 Le Mans winner Earl Bamber also lapping in the 1m31s. The #8 Toyota meanwhile, ended the day with the fourth-best time courtesy of Kazuki Nakajima, who reeled off a 1m31.970.

It wasn't a clean day for the LMP1 Hybrids though, with the #2 Porsche caught lapping slowly on multiple occasions during the morning, and the #7 Toyota also grinding to a halt unexpectedly.

In the LMP2 ranks Vailliante Rebellion achieved the best time of the 10-car bunch following Bruno Senna's 1m36.094s in the opening session of the test, driving the #31 car. It was overall a positive day for the Rebellion team, which enters LMP2 this year for the first time in WEC history.

Its sister Oreca 07 also ran well, ending the day with the second-fastest time in the class. Mathias Beche put the #13 seven tenths off Senna's time in the #31. Across the two cars, Rebellion managed to complete a total of 92 laps around the circuit.

The best of the rest was the #26 G-Drive Racing Oreca (pictured below) following 2015 FIA WEC LMP2 champion Romain Rusinov's 1m36.883s, ahead of the 2016 LMP2 champions in the #36 Signatech Alpine A470.

In GTE, Porsche consistently topped the times throughout the day, with the brand-new 911 RSR proving to be particularly quick in the Pro class. The Stuttgart-based brand's best time was a 1m47.781s set by Danish factory driver Michael Christensen in the #92 in the first session.

The sister #92 Porsche meanwhile, topped the times in Session 2 with Frenchman Kevin Estre's 1m47.844s in the afternoon sunshine, but the second- and third-best times of the day were achieved by the two Ford Chip Ganassi UK GTs – the #67 leading the #66.

It was a quiet day for both Aston Martin Racing and AF Corse, which both failed to set times close to the best in the class. Of the two outfits, the best time was set by #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488, Davide Rigon lapping over a second slower than Christensen.

There's strong suspicion up and down the paddock that the GTE runners in both Pro and Am are wary of showing their hands at this stage. This is likely the case more so in Pro, where the stakes are higher and the Balance of Performance is being set by a new "automated" system in 2017.

The LMGTE Am class saw Gulf Racing – and in particular Ben Barker – run quickest in all three sessions with its 2015-spec Porsche 911 RSR. His best time was a 1m50.035s in the afternoon as part of the team's 53-lap run throughout the day.

Tomorrow's on-track action at Autodromo Nazionale Monza is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) in Italy, with the schedule including two three-hour sessions for the FIA WEC teams.