Kobayashi paces WEC FP2 at Spa

Kamui Kobayashi put Toyota Gazoo Racing's No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid atop the timing screens in WEC Free Practice 2 with a 1:56.369, over a second quicker than his teammate Mike Conway's FP1-topping time earlier this morning at Spa-Francorchamps.

Kobayashi's time was half a second clear of the other LMP1 runners, with the best of the rest being the No. 2 Porsche 919 of Timo Bernhard, the German setting a 1:56.874 early in the session before Kobayashi put Toyota top with 40 minutes remaining in the session.

Third was the No. 1 Porsche, a further tenth adrift, ahead of the No. 8 and No. 9 Toyotas which ended the session fourth and fifth once again. This time round, the No. 9 Toyota – which is running the team's low-downforce aero package – set a 1:58.494 as its best time, just over two seconds off the best time set by Kobayashi.

In LMP2, CEFC Manor TRS Racing's two ORECA 07 Gibsons ended up sitting 1-2 atop the class standings. The best times from the team's pair of prototypes came from ex-F1 drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Vitaly Petrov. Vergne lapped the circuit in 2:02.662, four tenths quicker than Petrov to put the No. 24 ahead of the No. 25.

Behind, the No. 36 Alpine (pictured, FIA WEC photo) managed the third-fastest time courtesy of American Gustavo Menezes, who reeled off a 2:03.722. Just outside the top three was the TDS Racing ORECA, with stand-in driver Ben Hanley managing a 2:03.792; this after the TDS dealt with throttle issues in FP1, limiting the team to just a few laps during the 90-minute session.

Aston Martin Racing meanwhile, surprised the GTE Pro field after Marco Sorensen stuck the No. 95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage atop the GTE Pro classification with a 2:16.458 lap in the closing minutes. Notably, the Dane's time was a second faster than the other five AMR drivers' best laps set today.

Second, after an incident at Les Combes was the No. 92 Porsche of Kevin Estre. The Frenchman's off came just after he set a 2:16.720 which at that time was the fastest in the class. Estre was able to climb out of the 911 RSR unharmed, although the car had to be returned to the pits on a flatbed under red-flag conditions.

The No. 67 Ford GT – which ran fastest in FP1 – ended the day's running with the third-best time, a 2:17.213 by Harry Tincknell.

Miguel Molina set the pace in GTE Am, putting the Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE fastest in the class with a 2:17.806, a tenth quicker than the No. 98 Aston Martin.

The session was mostly clean, though there was a brief red flag toward the end following Estre's off, when David Heinemeier Hansson in the #13 Vaillante Rebellion got stuck on the grass after a spin.

Tomorrow's on-track action at Spa is set to begin at 10:25 a.m. local time with the third and final free practice session.