Alonso impresses as Bourdais hurt in crash at Indy 500

Fernando Alonso continued to impress at the Indy 500 as Sebastien Bourdais was involved in a frightening crash in qualifying.

Alonso, the two-time Formula One world champion, was seventh fastest on Saturday, booking a spot in Sunday's Fast Nine Shootout.

The McLaren Honda Andretti driver has put himself in a position to potentially clinch pole for the May 28 race.

Ed Carpenter, Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon made up the top three.

It came after inclement weather delayed practice and qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Bourdais was injured after a huge crash.

The Frenchman made heavy contact with the wall at turn two, requiring surgery after suffering multiple fractures to his pelvis and a fracture to his right hip.