Alonso reacts to 'fantastic' WEC victory

Fernando Alonso has hailed the team at Toyota for providing the vehicle for his win in the World Endurance Championship in Spa, and joked that he was planning on sleeping on the podium as it was his first race victory since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.

Alonso made his debut in the WEC on Saturday alongside Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi, with the trio sealing the win for the Japanese manufacturer from pole position.

Toyota ended up finishing with a one-two, and Alonso has praised the "amazing" job done by the team as well as a "nice debut" for himself.

"I think it was a nice debut, definitely, he said.

"We finished second yesterday in qualifying, but we started in first position so it was nice to hear the national anthem there before the race in front of everyone.

"In the race, we led basically all the laps. We had three Safety Cars that regrouped and we lost the advantage that we had, but we just kept the positions until the last lap. A fantastic debut, first endurance race in the world championship.

"An amazing job by the team, one-two in qualifying, one-two in the race, Kazuki and Sebastien at the start pulling away. They made my life a little bit easier."

In an official FIA championship it has been five years since Alonso has claimed the flag, and he joked that he would be sleeping on the podium as he hadn't seen one in so long.

"In a FIA world championship, it was in Formula 1 a couple of years ago in Spain with Ferrari. It's nice to be on the podium," the Spaniard continued.

"I was telling the guys, Kazuki and Sebastien: 'This is so nice to feel the podium! I will be here all night long. Pick me up all night long because I’ll try to sleep here!'"

Alonso's participation in the WEC is part of his preparations to launch an assault on motorsport's 'triple crown' which includes victories at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Indianapolid 500, and the Monaco Grand Prix.

The two-time Formula One champion reckons that the victory in Spa on Saturday for Toyota gives them confidence going into Le Mans, even though it will be a much tougher test.

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"I think definitely this is a warm-up for Le Mans. It’s a preparation, this is like a test but with points at the chequered flag," Alonso reiterated.

"Definitely we wanted to test ourselves in proper race conditions with other teams, put the drivers under stress, the mechanics under stress in racing conditions, and we delivered a one-two.

"We are ready for Le Mans. Definitely the race is a lot tougher, 24 hours, a lot of issues may appear in the 24 hours, but we are as prepared as possible.

"I think we will go with confidence into the race."