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It seems Fernando Alonso is giving himself every chance to win across formats in motorsports and establish himself as the best all-around driver ever. He is already signed on to drive in the Indy 500 with McLaren Racing in May 2019 to try and win the unofficial triple crown, with Chevrolet powering his car. The Dakar Rally is going to be even more challenging as he is unfamiliar with 'off-road' races, having driven all his career on circuits in F1 and now in World Endurance races in LeMans and Daytona. This is where Toyota has stepped in.
Toyota is a manufacturer which can provide Alonso the wherewithals to enter the Dakar Rally. Although the project is not entirely official from the Japanese company Toyota, there is a clear indication of green lighting this option for the Spaniard. He has an extremely cordial relationship with the Toyota Gazoo racing team, owing to his strong and quickly adaptive performances in the World Endurance Championship. Alonso initially planned to participate in the Monte Carlo rally but now Dakar has crept up into his schedule.
The 8,000-mile race winds through Argentina, Chile, and Peru as drivers are faced with an unending array of challenging environments, including the grand sand dunes of the Atacama Desert and the snow-capped Andes mountains of South America. Since the race is in January, it also gives Alonso the option of making a return to F1 in a competitive car, should he find one.
It is up to Alonso to confirm his participation, but a very optimistic tweet appeared on his social media account yesterday, captioned - The sky's the limit. Dakar in January 2020 is an exciting possibility that the racer in him will be extremely pumped up to take on. Of course, wherever he goes, media attention follows. Dakar's popularity will get a shot on the arm with this for sure.
