Fernando Alonso wins Le Mans 24 Hours on his debut in the classic endurance race
Spanish driver won famous race at first attempt to complete second leg of motorsport's 'triple crown'
FERNANDO ALONSO sensationally won the Le Mans 24 Hours at the first attempt.
The Formula 1 driver made history for the Toyota team who had never won the famous race.
Alonso, 36, has taken time out from a poor season in F1 with McLaren to win the endurance race alongside team-mates Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima.
The Spanish driver’s win completes the second part of motorsport's “triple crown” for the two-time Formula 1 world champion.
Twice a Monaco Grand Prix winner, he now aims to win the Indy 500 to complete the set.
If he wins at Indianapolis he will join Britain's Graham Hill as the only drivers in history to win all three races.
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Alonso joined Toyota's World Endurance Championship (WEC) programme this season with the aim of winning Le Mans, and is dovetailing it with his programme with McLaren in Formula 1.
Toyota were the only team competing with a hybrid car in the top LMP1 class, and the privateer-run non-hybrids are not fast enough to challenge them.
No such luck for Jensen Button, the former F1 world champ retired early in his first drive at Le Mans when the engine in his SMP Racing BR1-AER failed.
Alonso returns to F1 action at next weekend's French Grand Prix at Le Castellet.