Motorsports
Al Attiyah: “I think Alonso will return to Dakar”
Four-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al Attiyah said he was impressed with Fernando Alonso’s first attempt at the famous Rally Raid in 2020 and said the Spaniard will return in the future to try a second time.
Fernando Alonso competed in the Dakar Rally three years ago in the early days of 2020 during his two-year absence (2019-20) from Formula One – following his decision to retire in 2018 due to McLaren’s poor competitiveness.
During those two years of his absence, he competed in various types of motorsports, from Indycars to Le Mans to the Dakar Rally. It was his first major participation in a dirt rally and he did exceptionally well: With the Toyota Gazoo Racing factory team and the racing Hilux he finished in the top ten of the year in 8 of the 12 special courses and finished 13th .Overall Position in a race where the goal is an achievement in itself.
In 2021, the Spaniard returned to F1, having raced with Alpine for the last two seasons, while announcing in July that he will be racing with Aston Martin F1 for the next two years. However, Nasel Al Attiyah said that if Alonso, 41, retires from Formula 1, he will be looking to take the Dakar Rally laurels again.
“I’m still urging Fernando to have him back with us in Dakar,” said four-time race winner Al Attiyah. “I believe it will happen. He really enjoyed the Dakar and I’m sure he’ll be back next year or two.”
The driver from Qatar continued: “I know Fernando f1, but I met him when he joined our team in 2020. The team asked me to help him learn the dunes. We spent three days in Qatar in 50ºC and it really did an amazing job. He’s very, very talented.
In his first time in Dakar he showed that he has the speed. What you need for a race like this is experience because if you look back you have to have four, five, six years of experience before you can win. But it was really nice to have Fernando. We’re still talking and we’re waiting for him.” Nasser Al Attiyah closed.
The 2023 Dakar Rally is now less than twenty days away. His first special route of 14 will be held in the new year. The race will be held in Saudi Arabia again this year and Al Attiyah will aim to retain last year’s scepter, although Toyota will face new competition from Audi.
Source: sport 24
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