Fernando Alonso: “A lot of luck”

The image clearly marked the 10th stage of the Dakar 2020 in Saudi Arabia, with a happy ending for Fernando Alonso et Marc Coma. Au passage d’une dune, le tandem espagnol du Toyota Gazoo Racing s’est visiblement fait surprendre par la topographie, Alonso mettant son Hilux en travers avant d’effectuer deux tonneaux dans la descente.

More fear than harm for the double world champion F1 and his co-pilot, but a rather damaged Hilux, particularly at the windshield. Left almost instantly, the former pilot Renault in F1 then stopped for several minutes, losing more than an hour on a stage that was ultimately truncated due to weather conditions.

“Overall, I think we had a good day despite the rolls, because we didn't lose too much time, estimates Alonso despite his 1h17′ delay in today's standings. We lost a few places in the general classification but I'm happy to have had another difficult day on the Dakar.

After the rollover we had to change the wheels and the suspension arm because we felt something strange. We were 100% after that, until the stage was stopped by the organizers. In the end, it was better for us to spend a little more time at the bivouac to be able to wait for the assistance truck and try to repair the windshield.

I think we were very lucky today, to arrive at the end of the stage and still be 14th in the general classification. Our Hilux still works and we haven't suffered too much damage.

The Dakar is a really difficult race. We will not give up. We are not here just to participate. We are here to race, try to achieve good times, win stages and do well. This is what we love to do. »

Alonso will start in 56th position on the road at the start this Thursday of the second part of the marathon stage.