Endurance racing interests the Spaniard as much as the IndyCar Series and the IMSA, and it's no secret.

At 36 years of age, Fernando Alonso figures among the rare champions who are not worn out, jaded nor content. Despite some disappointing seasons he may have spent in the past with multiple teams, his appetite and passion are still very much intact.

He has made no effort to hide his dream: whether he one day joins Michael Schumacher in the world title record books or not, he does intend to take on a challenge that perfectly reflects his eclecticism: to become double F1 world champion, win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500, like Graham Hill, the only driver in history to achieve all three.

The proximity and short time frame between the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Formula 1 - Bahrain yesterday for the WEC and Abu Dhabi next Sunday for F1 - afforded Alonso a rare opportunity to try out an LMP1 prototype.

This morning at 10:00 local time, Sébastien Buemi (winner at the 6 Hours of Bahrain yesterday) hit the track at the wheel of his Toyota TS050 HYBRID in order to carry out some checks and adjustments before handing the car over to Fernando Alonso. While Mike Conway served as a sort of tutor to Thomas Laurent, a brilliant 2017 rookie, Buemi did not take the same tack with Alonso. "I think he needs to get to know the car on his own, without any preconceived notions." Between the 2014 world endurance champion and the two-time F1 world champion, dialogue came easily, equal to equal, with great enthusiasm tinted with mutual respect.

After a relatively simple start, the time to get accustomed to a closed cockpit and heavier machine than an F1, and different tire management, Fernando Alonso began to run laps like clockwork, without going after a time, without trying to impress - just looking to immerse himself and understand. "lt will be interesting to hear his impressions," anticipated Hisatake Murata, president of the Toyota team, before the debriefing. Across five hours of testing, the Spanish driver was by far the most assiduous on the track and completed no less than 113 laps! There was no doubt a great deal to discuss thereafter with the engineers and Sébastien Buemi.

During the night, the driver and his manager flew to Europe. On Tuesday at the Aragon circuit, Fernando is scheduled to test out the Ligier he will drive for the United Autosport team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Next Sunday, he will participate in the last Grand Prix of the season at Abu Dhabi. And in three weeks, he will return to the Gulf to compete at the 24 Hours of Abu Dhabi for a...karting race just for fun!  

If it was all up to him, he would happily participate in 27 races in 2018: 21 in Formula 1, the first five of the WEC Super Season and the Rolex 24 Daytona: the stuff of dreams for a rare and exceptional champion after 16 years at the top of his game.

 

Journalist: Anne Giuntini

PHOTO: Copyright - Marcel Langer