Fernando Alonso will participate in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) rookie test in Bahrain on Sunday 19 November, Toyota confirmed.
The 36-year-old will drive a TS050 HYBRID during the one-day session. The test occurs on the day after the 6 Hours of Bahrain, which was the final race of the 2017 WEC season.
Fernando has expressed a number of times a great interest in Le Mans as well as endurance racing in general. He is keen to drive a state-of-the-art hybrid LMP1 car, extensively developed for the WEC’s top category.
To prepare for the test, Fernando visited the Toyota facility in Cologne, Germany on Tuesday 7 November for a seat fitting and simulator session.
French driver Thomas Laurent, 19, will join the test. That is his reward for an impressive debut WEC season in LMP2.
“We are very excited that Fernando will test our car. When he visited us in Cologne everyone who met him could sense his enthusiasm and passion for our sport; he is a true racer. We very much respect his interest in different forms of motorsport and it is a pleasure to offer him this chance to drive a hybrid LMP1 car. It will be interesting to hear his feedback on the TS050 HYBRID”, Team President Hisatake Murata.
Fernando Alonso will participate in the WEC rookie test in Bahrain on Sunday 19 November
Confirmation of our fantastic result! A well-deserved victory for the #8 #TS050 HYBRID and a battling fourth position for the #7 car. #6hBahrain @FIAWEC #Toyota pic.twitter.com/fklPV4yWgV
— TOYOTA WEC Team (@Toyota_Hybrid) November 18, 2017
International Motor Show Luxembourg. @alo_oficial The Best ???❤️❤️❤️????????? pic.twitter.com/bml0DZylm2
— RV Motorsport (@Htusoli) November 18, 2017
Fernando Alonso is a two-time Formula 1 world champion
His Grand prix career started in 2001 in Minardi. After a year as a Renault test driver in 2002, Fernando became a regular driver in the French team. He took the title in 2005 and 2006 with Renault. The Spaniard left for McLaren in 2007 but after a tense year and some scandals left Woking. He returned to Renault before joining Ferrari where Alonso stayed from 2010 until 2014. Since 2015 he is a McLaren driver again.
In 2017 Alonso took part in the Indianapolis 500. Recently the United Autosports team announced that he will participate in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
