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Fernando Alonso gets quickly up to speed at the Brickyard

INDIANAPOLIS - Fernando Alonso was quickly up to speed at the famed Brickyard on Wednesday, blazing through his IndyCar rookie orientation to close in on earning a spot on the Indianapolis 500 starting grid. Alonso, who has competed in 276 Formula One races and is a double world champion, is an IndyCar debutant and arrived at in Indianapolis needing to pass a rookie test which he did with flying colours by recording a top speed of 222.548 mph (358.156 kph). It was an impressive debut by the 35-year-old Spaniard considering that Canada's James Hinchcliffe claimed pole position for last year's race with a four-lap average speed of 230.760 mph. "It felt new to me, it felt a little bit strange driving anti-clockwise at those speeds," Alonso told reporters. "What I felt in the car was more-or-less what I expected. What is different now is my excitement of the race itself." Alonso set the motor racing world buzzing when he announced last month that he had been granted clearance by his McLaren F1 team to skip the Monaco Grand Prix and race in the Indy 500 on May 28 in pursuit of the sport's famed Triple Crown - a Formula One title and Indy 500 and Le Mans wins. McLaren will enter the 101st edition of the Indy with a Honda-engined Indy car run by Andretti Autosport, owned by former McLaren driver Michael Andretti, in the old papaya orange livery of the 1970s. Alonso looked right at home at the Brickyard as he slipped into the number 29 car and was quickly turning laps of more than 200 mph around the 2.5 mile oval. The rookie orientation program was the first on-track step for Alonso towards securing a place in the 33 car field. All first-year competitors in the Indianapolis 500 must complete a gradual introduction to the speeds and unique nature of the sprawling track. During the private test Alonso ran 110 laps but it will be a much different situation on May 28 when he will have to contend with a 33-car field. "Today was just running alone learning the circuit and all the things that are involved with this technique," said Alonso, who had a run-in with two birds near the end of his session. "I am not driving the car, the car is driving myself around at the moment." The Spaniard, who is having a difficult F1 season with uncompetitive McLaren, has set his sights on joining Briton Graham Hill as the only drivers to achieve the Triple Crown.

MSO's Defined High Downforce Kit gives your McLaren wing

McLaren Special Operations, or MSO, can build anything a customer desires, but sometimes buyers don't even know what that is. So McLaren's bespoke division offers a variety of preconceived accessories and options to choose from. The new MSO Defined High Downforce Kit is for those who want to take the performance of their 570S up a notch, or maybe just give it the look of a track car. MSO is technically split into two entities in regards to new cars: MSO Bespoke and MSO Defined. Bespoke is for any extreme special-order customization, and Defined offers ready-made choices. On Sports Series cars, MSO Defined features include a carbon fiber front splitter, a carbon fiber roof, carbon fiber exterior door inserts, a carbon fiber rear bumper, and colored seat belts. The newest addition to the order book is the High Downforce Kit. The High Downforce Kit, available on the 570S Coupe and Convertible, includes a pedestal carbon fiber wing, drag-reducing "guide vanes" on the underside of the car, and a high-mounted center stop light to accommodate rear visibility. The gloss wing has contrasting end plate inserts painted in Palladium Grey with Silver Chromatic MSO branding, while the pylons are painted Satin Black with Palladium Grey inserts. According to McLaren, the High Downforce Kit adds 165 pounds of additional downforce. The company says it was tested for 10,000 miles at the Applus IDIADA test track in Spain. McLaren made no mention of how much the High Downforce Kit costs, but it can be configured now. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Relive Bruce McLaren's amazing story in new documentary

In the past few years, we've been privy to some excellent racing films, including the Senna documentary, and Ron Howard's Rush. It looks like the streak will continue with an upcoming documentary about Bruce McLaren, the man whose team still competes in F1 to this day. The film is directed by Roger Donaldson, who also directed The World's Fastest Indian. Based on the trailer for the film, we'll learn the story of McLaren's motorsports career from his humble beginnings to his fatal crash from the people he worked with. Woven among the period footage are words from his crew members, and, presumably, his family. Not only that, but famed racecar drivers Mario Andretti and Jackie Stewart have words about the man. It looks like the film will have more than just interview and period footage, as well. In the trailer are much more recent clips of a McLaren Can-Am racer, painted in the company's official orange color. The teaser is definitely worth a watch, and we eagerly await the release of the full documentary, whenever that may be. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.