Fernando Alonso added the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona to his 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours success, and hailed his Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac team for giving him an “amazing experience”.
Alonso took the lead from fellow ex-F1 racer Felipe Nasr in the final stages of the race, which was curtailed early due to torrential rain. Alonso shared his victory with Kamui Kobayashi, Renger van der Zande and Jordan Taylor.
“It’s amazing,” Alonso told NBCSN. “Just an amazing experience with this team, from the test and now the race – a perfect execution of the race.
“Very different conditions, and we’ve been competitive in everything – dry, wet, night and day. Really happy for the team and all the guys.
“[This win] will rank very high. To win this kind of endurance racing at iconic places like Daytona means a lot. With zero experience and background in endurance before [last year] it’s quite a big thing. I’ve been in the right place at the right moments, so I’m happy for that.”
Team boss Taylor quipped: “I’m disappointed as [son] Jordan has won as many 24s as I have, and I never wanted this day to happen!”
“I can’t even put it into words. Just everything, all has to come together, having these guys – I took nine months to get [Alonso] to agree! I have to say thanks to Zak Brown [McLaren CEO] for making this happen.”
Talking about the torrential weather conditions that ended the race, Taylor added: “Fernando Alonso is one of the most impressive guys I’ve ever seen, when I heard him come on the radio and absolutely talking in fear I suddenly realised… Let’s not race any more!”
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