Above: Fernando Alonso is swarmed by media on the grid for the 6 Hours of Bahrain.

Toyota has confirmed that two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso will drive a TS050 HYBRID in tomorrow’s FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test at the Bahrain International Circuit.

This comes after RACER revealed that 36-year-old Spaniard had visited Toyota Motorsport’s base in Cologne for a seat fitting earlier this month, and visited the circuit this weekend for the final WEC race of the season. Tomorrow’s test will be his first drive in an LMP1 Hybrid.

The team will run two TS050 HYBRIDS in the test; the other will be driven by Jackie Chan DC Racing’s French driver Thomas Laurent, who won Le Mans this year in LMP2 with the Chinese-flagged team.

“We are very excited that Fernando will test our car,” said Hisatake Murata, Toyota Gazoo Racing team president. “When he visited us in Cologne everyone who met him could sense his enthusiasm and passion for our sport; he is a true racer. We very much respect his interest in different forms of motorsport and it is a pleasure to offer him this chance to drive a hybrid LMP1 car.

“It will be interesting to hear his feedback on the TS050 HYBRID.”

Alonso has McLaren’s blessing to race for Toyota at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2018 if approached, RACER understands. The Spaniard has already been confirmed as racing for United Autosports in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.