Indianapolis, Indiana – Fernando Alonso was quickly up to speed at the famed Brickyard on Wednesday, blazing through his IndyCar rookie orientation to close in on earning a spot on the Indianapolis 500 starting grid.
Alonso, who has competed in 276 Formula One races and is a double world champion, is an IndyCar debutant and arrived at in Indianapolis needing to pass a rookie test which he did with flying colours by recording a top speed of 358.156km/h.
It was an impressive debut by the 35-year-old Spaniard, considering that Canada's James Hinchcliffe claimed pole position for last year's race with a four-lap average speed of 369.216km/h.
"It felt new to me," Alonso told reporters afterwards. "It felt a little bit strange driving anti-clockwise at those speeds.
"What I felt in the car was more-or-less what I expected. What is different now is my excitement of the race itself."
Alonso set the motor racing world buzzing when he announced in April that he'd been given clearance by his McLaren F1 team to skip the Monaco Grand Prix and race in the Indianapolis 500 on 28 May in pursuit of the sport's famed Triple Crown – a Formula One title and Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans wins.
McLaren will enter the 101st edition of the Indy with a Honda-engined Indy car run by Andretti Autosport, owned by former McLaren driver Michael Andretti, in the old papaya orange livery of the 1970s.
Rookie orientation
Alonso looked right at home at the Brickyard as he slipped into the number 29 car and was quickly turning laps of more than 320km/h around the four-kilometre oval.
The rookie orientation programme was the first on-track step for Alonso towards securing a place in the 33 car field. All first-year competitors in the Indianapolis 500 must complete a gradual introduction to the speeds and unique nature of the sprawling track.
During the private test Alonso ran 110 laps but it will be a much different situation on May 28 when he will have to contend with a 33-car field.
"Today was just running alone learning the circuit and all the things that are involved with this technique," said Alonso, who had a run-in with two birds near the end of his session. "I am not driving the car, the car is driving myself around at the moment."
Competitive Car
The Spaniard, who is having a difficult F1 season with uncompetitive McLaren, has set his sights on joining Graham Hill as the only drivers to achieve the Triple Crown.
McLaren, the second most successful team in Formula One history in terms of wins, has not won a race since 2012 and is experiencing new lows every weekend with its Honda engines lacking power and reliability.
The change of scenery and a competitive car put a broad smile on Alonso's face as he seemed to enjoy every moment of his first IndyCar experience.
"To be able to feel the respect of the place, the respect of car, the respect of the speed is something or any racing driver is just pure adrenalin," beamed Alonso. "It was a good day."