Fernando Alonso has made no secrets about his desire to participate in the world's greatest races that are outside of Formula 1. Last year he skipped Monaco in favor of the Indianapolis 500. He has also made his desire to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans quite clear. As it happens he may be taking part in another endurance classic and it could happen as early as January's Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona is the unofficial start to the major motorsports calendar. The 24 Hours of Dubai is technically the first endurance race of the season but for international prestige, the Daytona comes first. The early nature of the race allows for racers from all manner of motorsports to partcipate. IndyCar, NASCAR, WEC drivers use Daytona as a race to kick start their respective seasons.

"The race has a great history, and it is held in January, when the F1 season has not begun," Alonso told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo.

While former F1 drivers make appearances it is rare to see an active F1 driver take part in the race. The hectic nature of the off-season testing schedule makes things difficult as does the strict nature of the contracts. F1 teams aren't very keen to see their top drivers who they pay a sizable amount of money go off and risk harm racing in somebody else's series. Alonso, however finds himself in a fairly unique situation. McLaren set the precident by allowing him to race at Indy, furthermore McLaren top boss, Zak Brown also owns United Autosports. What is united Autosports you ask? They are a sportscar racing team that has a history of racing prototypes all across the globe but mostly in Europe.

Given the international flavor of the Rolex 24, it attracts teams from all over the world to participate. Rebellion racing is a prime example, they are a WEC team that makes regular trips stateside for some of North America's premier endurance races. United is keen to follow suit. All you have to do is connect the dots at this point. Alonso has an interest in the race, his boss also owns a team who has major interest in the race. McLaren has already allowed Alonso to race outside of Formula 1 and I'm sure it wouldn't take much convincing for Alonso to get himself a seat.

# motorsport # Formula1 # FernandoAlonso # IMSA # ZakBrown # UnitedAutosport # McLaren # Rolex24AtDaytona # Daytona # Monaco # Indy # ShiftingLanes

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