Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso continued his preparations for the Daytona 24 Hours by finishing 12th fastest in a mock qualifying session.

The McLaren driver is gearing up to make his Daytona 24 Hours debut later this month and completed three days of testing around the Daytona International Speedway at the 'ROAR before the 24' official test.

The test offered Alonso the opportunity to turn his first laps around the circuit which will host the 24 Hour event on January 27-28, as well as getting to grips with the United Autosports Ligier JSP217 machinery he will race in alongside 2018 McLaren F1 reserve driver Lando Norris and Phil Hanson.

He posted a 1m37.515s -- 1.7s off the fastest time set by ex-F1 driver Felipe Nasr -- to end Sunday's mock qualifying 12th fastest of the 20 prototypes. While the 15-minute session has no impact on the grid for the 24 Hours, it does determine the allocation of pit boxes and garages.

"There are still little changes going on and it's the same with the performance of the car," Alonso said following the session. "Obviously it's early days, it's only testing, but we need to find more pace and hopefully be more competitive when we come back in the race.

"The amount of laps is not huge but it's better than nothing and I feel more prepared now for the race, for sure. It was a good weekend to work with the guys, with the team, with the team-mates and enter into this mood of sharing everything and adapting and making compromises between all of us to be happy all around. That was the main priority for the weekend and it's what we achieved. That was a positive thing."

Alonso has outlined his hopes of becoming just the second driver after Graham Hill to achieve motorsport's unofficial Triple Crown -- which consists of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 Hours and Indy 500.

The Daytona 24 Hours will provide the Spaniard with a taste of endurance racing in sports cars ahead of a possible maiden entry at the Le Mans 24 Hours later this year with Toyota.