Montoya leads Alonso in Triple Crown quest

Alonso's Triple Crown dream was born from the frustration with the McLaren-Honda project. As a result, the double F1 world champion competed in last year's Indy 500, leading at one stage during the race before an engine failure ended his brickyard adventure. Nevertheless, he departed Indianapolis even more determined to chase the Triple.

This year there will be no Indy for Alonso but he has struck a deal to be part of the Toyota WEC driver line-up, victory at this year's Le Mans would be a step towards realising his ambition.

Right now he only has the Monaco Grand Prix triumph on his Triple Crown scorecard. He won at the Principality in 2006 and 2007 with Renault, but still needs ticks beside the Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours boxes.

On the other hand, Montoya is a step ahead of Alonso, the Colombian having won the 2003 Monaco Grand Prix driving a Williams-BMW and has two Indy 500 (2000 and 2015) victories on his CV. A tick in the Le Mans victory box is the only thing that separates him from the Triple Crown.

This year Montoya will compete in the legendary endurance race as part of the United Autosports team which will run LMP2 Ligiers at this year's race.

Although it is highly unlikely he will win the race outright in an LMP2, this may be the groundwork for a more serious Le Mans campaign in the future and a serious crack at the Triple Crown for the driver who raced for Williams and McLaren during his seven seasons in Formula 1.

Montoya said of his Le Mans venture, “I’m very excited about the opportunity to experience Le Mans and I’m looking forward to joining United Autosports after they had such a strong finish at Le Mans last year. I’ve always watched the race so I’m very happy to finally be part of it. Hopefully, we can have a shot at a win.”

Although seven times grand prix winner Montoya will be making his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he is no stranger to sports car racing, as he currently races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Team Penske.

Montoya has also raced and won in NASCAR and became the only driver to win a CART Series title, the Indy 500 and the Rolex 24 At Daytona all at his first attempt.

Montoya will join Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer in the #32 Ligier JS P217 for his debut at the most prestigious endurance race in the world.

Graham Hill is the only driver to have completed the Triple Crown, the Briton triumphing at Monaco on five occasions - 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969. He won the 1966 Indy 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1972.