Alonso in ‘much better position’ for second Rolex 24

Fernando Alonso feels he is in a “much better position” for his second entry to the Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race this weekend as he bids to score overall victory with Wayne Taylor Racing.

Alonso’s Rolex 24 debut last year with United Autosports marked his first sports car race as preparation for his entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota later in the year.

Racing in an LMP2 car against the faster DPi runners, overall victory was never likely for Alonso in 2018. Alongside Lando Norris and Phil Hanson, he ultimately qualified 13th and finished the race 90 laps down after reliability issues.

- A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

- ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA - ENTRY LIST

- WHAT WILL ALONSO'S 2019 LOOK LIKE?

Alonso has linked up with Wayne Taylor Racing for this year’s Rolex 24, with the Spaniard feeling more confident of his chances of overall victory given the sports car racing experience he has gained over the past 12 months.

“I’m happy to be back at the Rolex 24. Definitely, last year, I enjoyed the race a lot,” Alonso said in preview of the race.

“Wayne Taylor Racing’s performance over the last several years, being on the podium almost all of the time, winning the race two years ago, we know that we can be very competitive.

“Wayne Taylor Racing has a lot of experience in IMSA, a lot of experience at Daytona, and I’m learning a lot from them, and I will continue to learn a lot from my teammates. I am happy to drive the Cadillac around Daytona and hopefully it will be a good one at the end.

“I definitely feel like I’m in a much better position this year compared to last year. Last year, this was my first U.S. sportscar race and my first closed-cockpit experience and, definitely this year, I’m ready to enjoy it a bit more and use the experience of my first WEC season, as well.”

Since debuting at Daytona last year, Alonso has taken part in five FIA World Endurance Championship races with Toyota, winning at Spa and Le Mans, as well as completing extensive testing in its LMP1 car.

The two-time Formula 1 world champion will race alongside Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande and Kamui Kobayashi in the #10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R at Daytona this weekend.