Fernando Alonso confirms to compete at 2020 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia
The next challenge for Fernando is Dakar...
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Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso has confirmed he will compete in January's Dakar Rally with Toyota Gazoo Racing as he attempts yet another series of motorsport.
Alonso who won Le Mans and attempted the Indy 500 in his chase of the triple crown opens another chapter called Dakar in his career's book as his next challenge.
The deal was confirmed at a Toyota press conference at the Rally of Spain in Catalunya on Thursday.
At the press conference, Alonso said: "The Toyota Gazoo Racing programme was very appealing and very attractive to me.
"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 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 [tagline] says, but it's the same from the driver's point of view."
"This is the hardest challenge I ever took in my career."
Marc Coma, a five-time Dakar bike winner will be the co-driver of Alonso. The duo still has plenty to learn ahead of the start of Dakar on January 5 as both will participate in the third round of the exciting new local Saudi Toyota Desert Rally Championship on 4-9 November 2019 as well as Toyota is also considering a final testing in December in Rally Abu Dhabi before the start of the Dakar Rally on January 5