Alonso makes incredible debut in WEC

Alonso quickest of all in first WEC session

Originally written by Joas van Wingerden. This version is a translation.

Thursday 3 May 2018 16:43

Fernando Alonso made a promising start to this World Endurance Championship career as he set the fastest lap time at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of his debut for Toyota. Two-time Formula 1 world champion Alonso has targeted the Le Mans 24 Hours title as he seeks to claim the 'Triple Crown' of motorsport.

Two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner Alonso saw an attempt at the Indianapolis 500 end in engine failure last year, but the Spanish veteran will take on an entire calendar of WEC duties in his bid for Le Mans glory, which will come around twice in the 2018-19 schedule.

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#6hSpa FP1 @Toyota_Hybrid driver fastest in his first #WEC session.
• @alo_oficial sets 1m58.392s lap in No.8 Toyota TS 050-Hybrid on WEC debut
• Sister No.7 Toyota is 0.2s behind in second position as @Mikeconway26 sets 1m58.629s pic.twitter.com/eilBShCLUp — WEC (@FIAWEC) May 3, 2018

First up, though, is the Spa Six Hours, where Alonso will partner former F1 drivers Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima for Toyota Gazoo Racing.

After taking the wheel from Buemi, Alonso promptly put in a lap time of one minute 58.392 seconds - a tenth better than the Swiss driver had managed.

It also put the #7 car at the top of the leaderboard, with Toyota's second squad including Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez in second place, two tenths off the pace.

Guess who set the fastest lap of the first #6hSpa practice session? Yep, this guy. ?? Nice one, @alo_oficial. ???? #WEC pic.twitter.com/PcDtPvIJQW — McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 3, 2018