Vintage Alonso puts Le Mans win within reach

Fernando Alonso produced a superb overnight drive to put his Toyota side back in position to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, helping the team recover from a one-minute time penalty as he bids to complete the Triple Crown.

Alonso took the wheel at 130am last night and after Sebastian Buemi, the team's third driver, picked up a one-minute penalty for excess speed in a temporary slow zone, The Spaniard had his work cut out to get back into contention.

But after taking over 2 mins and 15 seconds behing No. 7, he drove with immense skill and at the end of his two-and-a-half hour stint, he had closed the gap to just 45 seconds for team-mate Kazuki Nakajima to continue.

Alonso has made no secret of his determination to win the Triple Crown of Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans, and the Indy 500, and he said after his drive: "I felt good at night.

"I was in the zone and I pushed to catch up. Some of the work is done, but it's still a long race."

With four hours left to go in the race Alonso holds a 1 minute 20 second lead over Toyota's sister car driven by Jose Maria Lopez, with more updates to follow.