Fernando Alonso has completed his first test ahead of his debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, with the Spaniard completing a number of laps in the United Autosports’ Ligier JS P217.
The McLaren F1 driver, fresh from his Toyota LMP1 outing, headed to Aragon in Spain to get his first taste of the LMP2 machinery he'll be racing in Daytona alongside team-mate's Phil Hanson and McLaren junior Lando Norris.
Alonso covered 98 laps (483km) under the watchful eye of Filipe Albuquerque, who was on hand to answer any questions the two-time champion had, as well as United Autosports owner and chairman, Zak Brown – who is also executive director of the McLaren F1 team.
"I had a great first test with United Autosports. Obviously, we are on a really tight schedule between now and Daytona, but it was nice to jump in the car for the first time," he said.
"There’s quite a few switches and things to study so it was important to do this initial shakedown before Daytona, so I could fully learn about the car. I’m happy with everything – the car felt great and the team were fantastic. The atmosphere here is wonderful, like a big family, so today has been amazing. I cannot wait for Daytona."
Richard Dean, United Autosports managing director, added: "We’ve had a good first test with Fernando. We shouldn’t be surprised that it took him no time at all to get used to the car and the circuit having never driven here.
"He immediately got down to really competitive times and set to work understanding the car and doing long runs and race distance stuff – hugely impressive."
Alonso's next outing will be the ROAR before the 24 on 5-7 January.
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