Alonso and his preparation for the Dakar: “I’m practically starting from scratch”

When was your idea of ​​taking part in the Dakar ?

Probably at the 6 Hours of Fuji last year. After the season WEC, nous avons discuté avec les gens de Toyota Gazoo Racing. Si je pensais ne pas être prêt pour la Yaris en WRC, the Hilux at the Dakar attracted me. We started to consider it, because it's not just a speed race. I also liked the adventure side and the navigation aspect. It became a reality last August.

How does driving in the desert differ from riding on a circuit?

In fact, I'm practically starting from scratch. You have to have a completely different mindset. Reading the terrain is very difficult. It’s complicated to know where the bumps are, for example, and to have an idea of ​​how to jump. Crossing the dunes is also a new challenge. To give you an example, in Namibia in August, there was a 40 cm mound and I surprised the team by asking Marc (Coma, his co-driver. Editor's note) how to approach it. They told me to just go for it… which I did!

Testing. @TOYOTA_GR #hilux pic.twitter.com/AG2qxNeNyV

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) October 26, 2019

Now I know I can climb much higher obstacles. At first, I was afraid of damaging the car by going through a deep hole like that (he mimes 20 centimeters. Ed.). I was taking too much care of it, because if you do that with a F1, you destroy everything! Another aspect that I discovered is the strength of the tires which are capable of taking real punishment. The pressure that builds gradually must be taken into account and I must learn to manage my tires well during the long stages.

Isn’t there also the role of the co-pilot to take into account?

Indeed, it’s the first time I’ve had someone next to me. It’s going very well with Marc, but it’s easy since I don’t know any other co-driver (laughing). I have to dread having to listen to what he tells me. It’s still different from the WRC where the corners arrive one after the other. There, Marc shows me the direction and then he no longer needs to speak for 5 kilometers. I think that, in the Dakar, the driver still drives by his own eyes and his feeling and, from this point of view, it is easier than the WRC. Having no reference, I needed much more than a co-pilot, rather a teacher who would teach me Rally-Raid.

It's official! Estaré en el proximo @dakar with @marc_coma y Toyota Gazoo Racing! This is an exciting return! Vamos a por ello!

So now it’s official! I will be on the next @dakar with the legend @marc_coma and Toyota Gazoo Racing! This is a big challenge! Let's do it! pic.twitter.com/XlkF97Ohqg

- Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) October 24, 2019

Did you have to learn to mechanic?

(Broad smile) This is indeed another interesting aspect of this participation. We need to practice replacing things. Marc has more work than me because the co-pilots always have more things to do than us (smile)! Our program included changing the front and rear suspensions or other parts that can break during a stage.

Is this all new to you?

…and I’m extremely slow! (big smile) The F1 team put on new tires in 3 seconds, now we have to change a suspension in 30 minutes. That seems very long to me!

How were your teammates able to help you?

They are very fast and have very good knowledge of the car and the particularities of this discipline. Everyone gave me so much information! It was a great contribution. I think my preparation should have taken years but, thanks to them, it took six months. The team had clearly marked out the terrain by establishing a list of things that I absolutely had to go through. One of them was to stay stuck in a dune. Since it didn't happen in Namibia, we had to provoke it by putting ourselves in a hole... from which we had to climb out. As another example, there was driving in a competitor's dust, changing a wheel, etc.

.@TOYOTA_GR Official Team for # Dakar2020
Pilots Co-pilots
@AlAttiyahN @matthieubaumel
@alo_oficial @marc_coma
@TheRealGiniel @AlexHar23
@b_tenbrinke @tcolsoul pic.twitter.com/LkkMD15XLV

- DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) October 24, 2019

The barrel in South Africa was planned ?

(Laughing) No, but then evolve without the windshield and with the motorcycle mask, yes!

Do you feel ready?

I think that for a race like the Dakar, you never are, but I think we did the best we could with the time we had. There is still a lot to learn, but I am happy with our progress. We have to do one or two tests and I will take part in one last event before the Dakar. I have never competed in this type of stage which can last 6 hours! In circuits, in the straight lines that we repeat several times, there are automatisms and we can relax a little. There, it's not possible to lose concentration for a single moment!

Every kilometer is new. I realized that I was drinking like that (he tilts his head to the side grabbing the camelBak pipette. Editor's note), without ever taking my eyes off the trail! It's one of the most complicated races in the world and I have to assess how I'm going to react mentally and physically, because it will be much longer than anything we can do in testing. It forced me to push my limits. This is the hardest challenge I’ve attempted so far… and I love it.

Have you started working on the settings?

Not really. I follow the set-ups used by my teammates who have experience. At first, I found that the car had a lot of movement in fast corners... but the team quickly gave me the answer (laughing)! They told me it was a 2 tonne vehicle, that I was very high off the ground and therefore I had better forget my F1 bearings. They did what could be done to make me feel more comfortable, but for the rest I have to adapt.

What goal have you set for yourself?

I would like to finish this Dakar. I looked at the statistics and saw that 60% of crews do not finish. I hope to be in the remaining 40%. At the same time, I would like to be competitive. Maybe not over the whole event, but over certain stages, when everything is going well, when the best have days without... If I reach the finish without too much damage, maybe the result will be good?