How Alonso is gearing up to try and win the Le Mans 24 Hours

By:

Gary Watkins

Oct 27, 2017, 9:17 AM

Fernando Alonso is to test for Toyota's LMP1 team in Bahrain, and then tackle next year's Rolex 24 at Daytona. Gary Watkins examines what the move could mean for his ambitions of one day winning the Le Mans 24 Hours.

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It was sometimes difficult to believe we were watching a rookie in action.

Fernando Alonso's performance at the Indianapolis 500 in May belied his lack of experience not just of the Brickyard, but of oval racing full stop. But even the Spaniard has admitted that he could have been better prepared for the big challenge.

That's why he will be on the grid for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January at the wheel of an LMP2 prototype. And why he's testing a Toyota LMP1 car in Bahrain.

Gary Watkins

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Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 32nd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 75 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Autoweek, Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.