A great weekend of motorsport

Motor sport fans are in for a real treat this weekend, with two of the three triple crown events taking place on Sunday - the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500 - and with interest in both events at an all-time high could this be the greatest weekend ever for motorsport fans?

The final weekend in May is always a special time for race fans with these two epic races taking place, however this year both events are taking on an extra dimension and it is all because of Fernando Alonso.

In recent months Fernando Alonso's frustration levels have been rising driving his under-performing McLaren, and as one of the most gifted drivers of a generation you can understand his angst. Fernando should be winning races on a regular basis but at the moment he is in a car that in normal circumstances is not capable of allowing him to compete at the front.

This situation led to Fernando recently expressing a wish to compete at Indianapolis - his aim is to become the first person since Graham Hill (and only the second person in history) to win motor racing's triple crown of Monaco, the Indy 500 and Le Mans.

Refreshingly after what must have been some very interesting conversations between Fernando, his management team and McLaren it was agreed that he could be released for one race to compete at Indy.

Of course, without Fernando racing at Monaco, McLaren needed to find a replacement and so step up fans favourite Jenson Button. The Englishman originally from Frome in Somerset and now living in Monaco retired from Formula 1 last year after 17 years competing including winning his World Championship in 2009.

It will be fascinating to watch how Jenson, who hasn't driven an F1 car competitively since November last year handles driving around the tight, twisty streets of Monaco in a car that is very different to those of last year with greater down-force and higher cornering speeds.

As soon as the Monaco race is over you can tune in to watch Fernando Alonso take on the high-speed ovals at Indy (a track that couldn't be more different than Monaco!). With qualifying already having taken place last weekend he will be starting the race from 5th and at the wheel of a very competitive car he has a real chance of adding the Indy 500 to an already impressive CV!