Alonso takes another big step towards Le Mans

Fernando Alonso, Toyota Gazoo Racing, 2017 Bahrain rookie test

Here it is, the moment we've been waiting for! Fernando Alonso steps into the Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1 to take part in the FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test at Bahain International Circuit.

It's been widely rumoured for weeks, but it finally happened on Sunday.

Alonso is already confirmed as taking part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, with Zak Brown's United Autosports LMP2 team alongside young McLaren driver Lando Norris.

But the two-time world champion's ultimate aim is to enter the Le Mans 24 Hours. This weekend's test with Toyota is the biggest indication yet that he will indeed be on the grid for the 2018 race next June.

It's all part of Alonso's plan to complete the Triple Crown. A previous winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso made a splash in this year's Indianapolis 500 and now wants a crack at the famous Le Mans event.

Prior to the rookie test, Alonso spent the Saturday trackside as an interested spectator of the Six Hours of Bahrain, the final round of this year's WEC season.

Alonso ran into some familiar faces in the paddock, including former Formula 1 star Mark Webber (pictured below). Since retiring from Formula 1 at the end of 2013, Webber spent three seasons in WEC with Porsche, and won the 2015 championship.

Webber is a veteran of five Le Mans events and was runner-up in the 2015 race with team mates Timo Bernhard and a certain Brendon Hartley.

Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, 2017 Six Hours of Bahrain

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