F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Alonso and Toyota off to a good start at Le Mans

Fernando Alonso topped the timesheet for Toyota at the Le Mans 24 Hours official test day which which enabled the Spaniard to enjoy his first experience of the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The McLaren driver put himself and the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid on top at the outset, achieving the fastest lap in the morning session and confirming the performance in the afternoon with a lap in 3m19.066s that edged out fellow LMP1 contender Mathia Beche driving the Rebellion R-13-Gibson by 0.614s.

"It was a lot of fun out there - the track is beautiful and fits perfectly with the LMP1s," said the two-time world champion.

"It was enjoyable for me and we got the info we needed from the test."

Alonso's Toyota team mate Kamui Kobayashi clocked in third on-board the #7 that he will be sharing with Mike Conway and José Maria Lopez.

Team and drivers now have one week before the 86th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours kicks next Sunday with the event's traditional Pesage procedures.

Needless to say, Alonso will be hard at work in Montreal next weekend, aiming for a points scoring finish in Canada with McLaren.

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Michael Delaney

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