Alonso airs Balance of Performance concerns for Cadillac

Alonso’s Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi will start from P6 on Saturday, as he bids to add another sportscar classic to his Le Mans 24 Hours success of 2018.

Jordan Taylor set the time in the car, which was eight tenths slower than the pole-winning Mazda of Oliver Jarvis.

“I think it was good, Jordan put in a super lap,” Alonso told NBCSN after qualifying. “I think starting from the third row is the maximum, I think we’re four or five milliseconds from the other Cadillac [the #31 Action Express car] that was just faster than us.

“So, yeah, I think the top four positions were blocked by the Mazda and Acura before today, because we knew their potential from the Roar [test]. It’s a long 24 hours, but I think the starting position is good.”

Alonso says he was advised to join an American team if he was serious about winning the event, after a disappointing first attempt with the British-based United Autosports in an LMP2-spec car.

Alonso added: “Last year we were not very competitive, so everyone told me that to win Daytona you need to be in an American team, because the BoP will never be the same for European teams, so this year I’m in an American team but we still don’t have the BoP as the others.

“But, as I said, I think we have a good reliability and good experience here with Wayne Taylor Racing, so we’re in a good position and need to execute the race to perfection.”