Number 66 for Alonso at the Indianapolis 500
The Spaniard has chosen a symbolic number for his second participation in the main event of the IndyCar Series.
2019 is a year of revenge for the double Formula 1 world champion. Two years after a long fight for victory, Fernando Alonso returns to the Indianapolis 500. In 2017, a Honda engine failure 21 laps from the finish prevented him from completing his first race on the world’s most legendary oval.
In an effort to change his luck, the Asturian bull will line up with a new number on the grid, 66. This number is significant for McLaren: it was with this number that Mark Donohue secured the British team’s first victory at Indianapolis in 1972. Two more successes followed, in 1974 and 1976, with Johnny Rutherford, each time with a factory program similar to the one proposed this year by the team from Woking.
And another proof of its attachment to the past, McLaren returns to the Brickyard with a Chevrolet engine at its back. Exit Honda and make way for the American engine supplier, winner of the latest edition of the Indy 500 with Will Power, driving a Team Penske car. A reunion to rekindle a beautiful shared history: McLaren and Chevrolet have already teamed up in the 60s and 70s in the Can-Am category, the ancestor of the IndyCar Series. For a nice total of 42 victories!
Something to give Fernando Alonso ideas, who is still in the running for the “Triple Crown,” after winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 2006 and 2007, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Toyota LMP1 last year.
