Driving Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 963 LMDh, Estre set a blistering time of 1m39.990s at the beginning of the 90-minute session that was cut short by a stoppage for the new Lamborghini SC63 LMDh.
Estre was the only driver to get below team-mate Frederic Makoweicki’s benchmark of 1m40.404s, which was set in relatively hotter conditions at the Losail International Circuit in the two-day Prologue, with his nearest challenger Jean-Eric Vergne only managing a best time of 1m40.772s in the #93 Peugeot.
Vergne was closely followed by Jenson Button in the #38 Jota customer Porsche, with the 2009 Formula 1 world champion also completing an early qualifying simulation to end up just 0.010s adrift in third.
The Chip Ganassi-run Cadillac ended up fourth in the order courtesy of Alex Lynn’s effort of 1m40.986s, with Matt Campbell rounding out the top five in the #6 Porsche.
IndyCar convert Callum Ilott briefly held the top spot on the timesheets, but his early flyer of 1m41.328s in the #12 Jota Porsche left him sixth in the final order, 1.3s off the pace of the factory 963 of Estre.
Antonio Giovinazzi propelled the #51 Ferrari 499P to seventh shortly after the first red flag, which was deployed 26 minutes into the session when Isotta Fraschini’s Tipo 6 LMH got beached in the gravel at Turn 6 with Jean-Karl Vernay at the wheel.
A second red flag would follow with just 10 minutes remaining in the session after Mirko Bortolotti crawled to a halt in the Lamborghini SC63 at Turn 7, likely due to a mechanical issue.
A decision was subsequently taken not to restart second practice.
That left the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid a distant eighth in the order, with new recruit Nyck de Vries ending up more than 1.5s off the pace on what is turning out to be a challenging weekend for the Japanese manufacturer.
Source: Autosport