Alonso Takes First Daytona Steps in Roar Before the 24

[Paul Jeffrey]

Fernando Alonso continues his endurance racing journey in America as the double World Champion samples the Daytona circuit for the first time in his United Autosports Ligier.

Alonso, 36, will contest the Rolex Daytona 24 Hour event for United Autosports for the first time later this month, taking part in his first 24 hour GT endurance race as the Spaniard continues his quest to secure the exclusive 'Triple Crown' of motorsport victories.

Having previous run in the Ligier JS P217 late in 2017 driving at the Aragon circuit in Spain, Alonso would today be afforded his first opportunity to both work with new team mates Lando Norris and Phil Hanson, plus sample the legendary Daytona Speedway Road Course, one of the most iconic road/oval combination circuits in the United States.

Driving in the customary 'Roar Before the 24' test session, Alonso would enjoy limited seat time in the #23 United Autosports entry, managing only five laps at the very close of the opening running. Despite limited time behind the wheel of his LMP2 specification prototype, Alonso would be an impressive 1.5 seconds behind his pace setting team mate Norris, ending the day on 1m39.604s as team and car eventually wound up in sixth position overall thanks to the earlier benchmark set by McLaren third driver and up and coming British star Norris.

Testing will continue throughout the weekend.

For more from the world of motor racing be sure to check out our Motorsports Sub Forum and leave a comment to engage with your fellow community members.

Like what you see here at RaceDepartment? Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow us on social media!

RaceDepartment YouTube
RaceDepartment Twitter
RaceDepartment Facebook
RaceDepartment Twitch
RaceDepartment Instagram

Looking forward to Daytona 2018? Do you think Alonso stands a chance to win the big race? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[CC]

Never realized he was that small

 

[@apocapollo]

haha he's ours now

 

[NASCRAP]

RD needs more IMSA coverage -- period. Not just when an F1 name is involved. But I do like Alonso and I wish him well.

 

[oorjit07]

Alonso is 36, and both his teammates are 18, meaning you could add their ages up.

 

[P*Funk]

RD needs more IMSA coverage -- period.

No kidding. Its my preferred side of things owing to the nature of the rules and the tracks involved. Anyone who was watching last year's race to the end surely agrees since that was a stonking good finish in the GTLM category.

 

[Rafa Fernandez]

Never realized he was that small

He is spaniard...as I am. Short

 

[Boby Kim]

Im certainly looking forward towards the Imsa 2018 plus the Continental races. Hopefully Fernando is able to find his sweetspot. My thought is that being a (former) F1 driver is heavily overrated for being able racing other cars. We will see how far he wil get in this series. Winning Daytona? Maybe...only the gods know. May the force be with him

 

[Rob Every]

Norris looks like he is still growing judging by the fit of those overalls!

 

[DND]

No disrespect to the drivers of Daytona 24 hour past, but Alonso came at the right time and what was needed to put the 24 back to the status it lacked during the Grand AM days. IMO it still has a long way to go to be considered in the same category as the other 24 but perhaps they are on the right path this time.

 

[traind]

Never realized he was that small

Most f1 drivers are smaller than average. Look at a photo of alonso, vettel and hamilton and you can see they are all roughly the same size. Venus Williams is about 6 foot or 6'1 and makes hamilton look like a kid.

 

[CC]

Most f1 drivers are smaller than average.

Yes but youll soon find that there smarter than your average bear

 

[NASCRAP]

The season-opening Prototype Challenge (LMP3) race at Daytona is being broadcast now at https://imsatv.imsa.com/

 

[CC]

The season-opening Prototype Challenge (LMP3) race at Daytona is being broadcast now at https://imsatv.imsa.com/

Do people actually watch LMP3 ? did not realize it was popular like F2 or F3 for example

 

[NASCRAP]

Do people actually watch LMP3 ? did not realize it was popular like F2 or F3 for example

They're really just switching over to them now, and letting them run completely separate races. Last season they were mainly using a different spec car and running in the WeatherTech series. Most races only had 2 or 3 cars. Now they have 25 of the LMP3s and MPCs running. So it should definitely attract more fans than the alternative.

 

[krzysiek_aleks]

LMP3 cars are very popular, way more, than LMPC (thankfully, this category is dead finally). Last year in European Le Mans Series there was 17 full time cars, 10 in Michelin Le Mans Cup (plus some more in Le Mans) and some in VdeV. Don't forget about British LMP3 Cup and Chinesee LMP3 Series (just for Ligiers). Maybe they aren't on F2/F3 level of interest, but if you compare LMP1/2 to F1, then you can compare LMP3 to F2/3 in terms of interest.

 

[CC]

LMP3 cars are very popular, way more, than LMPC (thankfully, this category is dead finally). Last year in European Le Mans Series there was 17 full time cars, 10 in Michelin Le Mans Cup (plus some more in Le Mans) and some in VdeV. Don't forget about British LMP3 Cup and Chinesee LMP3 Series (just for Ligiers). Maybe they aren't on F2/F3 level of interest, but if you compare LMP1/2 to F1, then you can compare LMP3 to F2/3 in terms of interest.

That is kinda what I was saying ,
LMP1 maybe no way near as much interest as F1 specially globally , but I kinda see F2/F3 on par with LMP2/LMP3 in terms of popularity ,
it cant just be the speed of the cars that interest people , because some of the best racing I have ever seen on TV is BTCC/Ginetta/ and of course F2 which is shown same time as F1 as kind of a support race to weather the track in nicely , but these are way more fun to watch and the racing is unreal compared to some of the premier sports shown globally in which are all dominated by mainly the rich teams

Wonder what it is exactly what generates the interest in some series over others , because after watching F1 over the last few years its not the racing that is for sure

 

[krzysiek_aleks]

I think, that what brings people to F1 (including myself) is prestige, level of this series. It's top racing series in the world. Fastests, greatests cars and drivers in the world etc.

I do prefer IndyCar (Scott Dixon would crush many of F1 drivers and all hail Sebastien Bourdais), but still F1 is like Champions League in football. Yes, sometimes match in regional league is much more interesting, but Champions League is Champions League

 

[CC]

I think, that what brings people to F1 (including myself) is prestige, level of this series. It's top racing series in the world. Fastests, greatests cars and drivers in the world etc.

I do prefer IndyCar (Scott Dixon would crush many of F1 drivers and all hail Sebastien Bourdais), but still F1 is like Champions League in football. Yes, sometimes match in regional league is much more interesting, but Champions League is Champions League

Not quite sure the statistics , but I am quite sure that Formula E is quite popular sport everyone seems to be complaining and laughing about it ,
but like they say if people talk there is interest , but sure that FE is more popular than F2 and LMP2 for example
be cool to see the TV audience ratings for all these series

 

[Michel Forest]

I don't know how good Alonso will do at Daytona (probably very well) but that new helmet design is the best I've seen in a long time. There's something to be said in favor of simplicity and elegance.