Fernando Alonso was quickly up to speed at the famed Brickyard, 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 358km/h.

“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.

He will be in pursuit of the sport’s famed triple crown – a Formula One title and Indy 500 and Le Mans wins.