2x Formula 1 champion and Le Mans winner Fernando Alonso has confirmed about competing in January's Dakar Rally with Toyota Hilux supported by Toyota Gazoo Racing.
The Spanish driver competed before in several rallies as a testing platform for his 2020 entry in the rally raid, including a top 10 time in Morocco Rally to gain confidence.
The announcement was confirmed by Toyota during the press conference of Rally Spain today in Catalunya.
Speaking at press conference, Alonso said:
"After Formula 1 I started to discover some new things in motorsport and the most iconic races.
"I started with WEC, we won Le Mans twice and the world championship and that feeling and that family I found inside TGR [Toyota Gazoo Racing] opened my eyes for other opportunities.
"One of those opportunities was this one: Dakar. It's the hardest race on the planet, but for me it's a way of pushing the limit for better - like TGR says, but it's the same from the driver's point of view."
"This is the hardest challenge I ever took in my career."
Alonso's co-driver in the Hilux will be 5-time Dakar winner in bike category Marc Coma.
Alonso will now most likely take part in Ulma Rally next month in Saudi Arabia, with Abu Dhabi's cross-country event also on the schedule to get maximum mileage as testing is banned in Saudi Arabia ahead of the event.
He will be joined in the team by last year's winner and Dakar legend Nasser Al Attiyah, Bernard Ten Brinke and 2009 Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers, who also helped Alonso during first tests in March in South Africa.
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