Matt Campbell set the early running with a 1m35.941s in the Porsche Penske Motorsports 963, although Jack Aitken soon joined him, the Action Express Racing Cadillac V-LMDh producing a lap just 0.032s slower.
At this point 2016 IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud in the Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 lay third, and with 32 minutes to go, he trimmed his deficit to top spot down to 0.182s.
