Fernando Alonso is set to take part in this year’s World Endurance Championship, including a Le Mans debut in June.
The current McLaren Formula 1 driver was confirmed on Tuesday to be competing with Toyota in the WEC, where he will contest all but one of the races in the upcoming year.
The two-time F1 world champion will race alongside 2014 WEC champion and 2016 Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi and ex-Williams Formula 1 driver Kazuki Nakajima in the #8 car.
Anthony Davidson will make way for Alonso, continuing with the team in the reserve role, and presumably taking the place of Alonso when he skips the WEC Fuji round to compete in the United States Grand Prix – the only F1/WEC clash of 2018.
This announcement comes only a few days after Alonso’s first endurance race, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, which saw the Spaniard finishing in 38th place overall in the #23 United Autosports car alongside team-mates Lando Norris and Philip Hanson.
This also follows Alonso’s maiden attempt at winning the Indianapolis 500 last year, which established his desire to win motorsport’s coveted “triple crown,” with this year giving him the opportunity to further this in June when he competes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Alonso said “I’ve never been shy about my aim of winning motorsport’s ‘Triple Crown’ – the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“We tried for Indy last year, came close, but just missed out. This year, I have the chance thanks to McLaren to race for the win at Le Mans.
“It is a big challenge – much can go wrong – but I am ready, prepared and looking forward to the fight.”
Alonso will make his WEC racing debut on May 5th at the 6 Hours of Spa, which will see the WEC’s superseason get underway.
