The Indianapolis 500, the Grand Prix of Monaco and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Arguably the Triple Crown of motor racing. Both Indy and Monaco are open-wheel, open-cockpit races. Le Mans is not, quite, as there is a bit of glass, a hood and the least bit of high-tech body work on those cars, just enough that it would take a competent technician about 10 minutes to make the conversion.
The most recent LeMans was won by Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso, who had not one anything since the Grand Prix of Spain in 2013, a dry spell for someone with his talent.
His move from Ferrari to McLaren in 2015 did nothing to help him, a move seemingly motivated by money only, as McLaren continues to decline.
Alonso performed the motor racing equivalent of code hopping and was desperate to feel the sensation of winning again.
Unfortunately, he has to go back to his seat behind the wheel of a McLaren this weekend.
Alonso is one of a select group to win a Monaco-LeMans double.
The Triple Crown is an unofficial thing. Alonso was leading the Indy 500 last year when engine failure with just over 50 kilometres remaining cost him the race.
Only Graham Hill has won all three races. Hill won LeMans in 1972, Indy in 1966 and Monaco in 1968 and 1969.
Now, Alonso admits to wanting to return to Indy to fill the trifecta.
“I went there last year without any particular objective. We were leading the race, we were close to victory, but we missed the opportunity,” Alonso said.“The Indy 500 is part of the Triple Crown and it’s really a very important goal. It’s attractive trying to conquer it and see if you can be an even better and more complete driver.”
Alonso, obviously with his knickers in a twist over McLaren’s F1 fortunes, expressed ambivalence about driving that circuit in 2019.
For their part, McLaren is thought to be pondering an expansion into IndyCar, which would afford Alonso new opportunities.
