Mike Conway set a 1m56.172 lap, over two seconds faster than the best time set in the morning session and 0.643s ahead of the n°8 Toyota in the second 90-minute practice session.  

The best lap time for the LMP1 non-Hybrid entry was set by the N°.10 DragonSpeed car as Pietro Fittipaldi sets impressive 1m58.835s lap as he makes his WEC debut.  However the best time of the day went to the n°3 Rebellion Racing R13 with a 1m58.392 in the morning session, compared to a 1m59.011 in the afternoon, which was good enough for 4^thoverall in FP2.

There was drama for ByKolles as Dominick Kraihamer stops on track during session with suspected mechanical problem and two red flags during session to recover cars that had gone off into the barriers.

Ford continue to lead in the LMGTE Pro category with Olivier Pla setting a scorching pace with a 2m13.733 lap in n°66 Ford GT.  The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing driver was 0.9s ahead of second placed n°91 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Gimmi Bruni, with the n°67 Ford GT in third and n°92 Porsche fourth as the American/German manufacturer battle continues to rage.

Pastor Maldonado was once again the quickest driver in LMP2 in the DragonSpeed Oreca-Gibson, with a lap of 2m02.991s lap. The former grand prix winner was 0.3 seconds ahead of the n°37 Jackie Chan Racing Oreca and G-Drive Racing.

Porsche continued to lead the way in LMGTE AM with the n°86 Gulf Racing 911 of Ben Barker set the fastest time for the category for FP2 with a 2m16.113s lap of the 7km Spa-Francorchamps circuit.  The n°77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche was second ahead of reigning champions in n°98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8.

The third and final Free Practice session will take place tomorrow, Friday 4^thMay, at 11h00.

The ex-Williams and Lotus F1 racer arrives in Belgium having had a positive start to his sportscar career after topping the LMP2 times in the official pre-season FIA WEC test at Paul Ricard last month. 

The Venezuelan’s lap in the American entered teams’ Gibson-powered ORECA 07 saw him register his intent on making a big impression this season.

"It was my first time in this type of race car and I really enjoyed the performance of it," he said. "I expected it to be different really, but I saw the car working well and we were able to post a good time.  However, it is very early in this programme for me and we have to stay realistic, there is still a lot for me to understand, but the first impressions are very positive.”

"The DragonSpeed team is looking very good," said Maldonado, who shares the car with Mexican Roberto Gonzalez and French driver Nathanael Berthon for Spa and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. From Silverstone onwards Anthony Davidson joins for the remainder of the 2018/19 FIA WEC Super Season.

Maldonado, who won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix for Williams, said he was enjoying the FIA WEC paddock and being in a competitive environment once again.

"It's a great championship," he said.  "It's much more free [than F1] but obviously very professional. I like the balance very much and I think it will be good fun and serious at the same time.  I can’t wait to go racing at Spa where I won twice in GP2 back in 2008 and 2010, so the memories are strong for me at this great circuit.”

Fernando Alonso has got his time in the FIA World Endurance Championship off to a strong start after the Spanish double F1 World Champion set the fastest lap time in the first free practice session at Spa-Francorchamps. 

Alonso posted a 1m58.392 lap in the n°8 Toyota TS050-Hybrid, 0.2 seconds ahead of Mike Conway in the sister n°7 Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050.

The fastest of the non hybrid LMP1 entries was the n°3 Rebellion Racing R13-Gibson of Thomas Laurent, the French driver setting a 1m58.629s lap, just 0.4 seconds behind the lead Toyota.

Ford led the way in the LMGTE Pro category with the n°67 Ford GT of Andy Priaulx setting a 2m15.014 lap of the 7km Spa-Francorchamps track and just 0.2 seconds ahead of the n°66 Ford GT of Olivier Pla.  Porsche were third and fourth quickest in the 90 minute session.

Pastor Maldonado set the fastest LMP2 time on his WEC debut with a 2m03.494s lap in No.31 DragonSpeed Oreca.  The Venezuelan’s lap was 0.6 seconds ahead of the rest of the LMP2 field, with 2016 champions Signatech Alpine in second and 2015 champions G-Drive Racing in third.

In LMGTE Am Matteo Cairoli was fastest in the n°88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche, with a 2m16.601 lap s best to outpace the n°86 Gulf Racing UK 911 of Ben Barker by 1.4 seconds.  The second Dempsey-Proton Porsche was third quickest, with the n°56 Team Project 1 911 in fourth, to give Porsche a 1-2-3-4 at the end of the session.

The second Free Practice session will take place this afternoon at 16h25.

Former Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has criticised WEC boss Gerard Neveu's decision to move the Fuji round of the upcoming 'superseason' to enable Fernando Alonso to compete with Toyota.

Of the five rounds to take place in 2018, the Japanese event, held at a circuit owned by Toyota, was the only event to clash with the Spaniard's Formula 1 schedule with McLaren but has now been resolved with the race re-organised for October 14.

The problem now, however, is many of the other WEC drivers will have to cancel their own commitment to compete at the Petit Le Mans at Road America which falls on the new date and Button isn't too pleased with the change.

"It’s a shame that a race is changed for one driver," the Briton tweeted over the weekend. The change hurts so many other drivers who have contracts in place.

"Also other categories like IMSA and Super GT where a clash will hurt their fan base," Alonso's former McLaren teammate, who is racing in Super GT this year, added.

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• McLaren unconcerned by hectic Alonso schedule in 2018

Earlier, WEC boss Neveu had insisted: “How can you imagine having someone like Alonso in your paddock, racing for Toyota, and say that we are going to Japan without him?" he told Motorsport.com this week.

“Fernando wants to fight for the [F1] world championship, he cannot miss one race. It was logical [to reschedule Fuji]."

He also claimed IMSA, the series which runs Petit Le Mans, understood the shift in date after benefiting from the double F1 champion's presence at Daytona last month.

"They have a good estimation of the added value of a driver like this in your paddock," Neveu added.