Fernando Alonso has been linked with a seat at Toyota to take part in the WEC rookie test in Bahrain on November 19th ahead of a possible run at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2018, according to various media reports.
The Spaniard, who will race full-time for McLaren in Formula 1 next season, is looking likely to follow up his attempt at the Indianapolis 500 back in May with a run at the world’s most famous endurance race, which is also another leg of motorsport’s Triple Crown, along with the Monaco Grand Prix.
Following Graham Hill and becoming just the second driver to win the three most prestigious races in racing has become a goal for the double F1 world champion and he will get his first experience in a 24-hour race when he competes at the Rolex Daytona 24 in January, joining another of McLaren Executive Director Zak Brown‘s teams, United Autosports.
Though Alonso has not been named yet in the official line-up for Toyota for the event later this month at Sakhir, it is understood he was in Cologne at the Japanese manufacturer’s motorsport HQ beginning preparations for his appearance. It is also claimed the 36-year-old will share driving duties with LMP2’s Thomas Laurent and current Toyota racer Mike Conway.
A run with Toyota would represent the most likely place to achieve victory at Le Mans as they will be the only major carmaker left in LMP1 after 2017 with Porsche, who Nico Hulkenberg won with during his appearance in 2015, pulling out at the end of the year ahead of their entry in Formula E.
