Fernando Alonso says his performance in the upcoming Morocco Rally will likely decide if he enters next year’s Dakar.
The Spaniard has been busy testing in a Toyota Hilux both in Africa and Europe, including a non-competitive outing at an event in South Africa last month.
This week though sees the double Formula 1 champion compete in his first FIA Cross Country Rally at the season finale which will provide a key assessment of his development.
“It may be an important moment,” he said.
“It will be eight or nine car days [including testing], many kilometres, many more than I have done so far. The clearest and most concrete idea of how I feel and whether or not I want [to run the Dakar], will be after Morocco.”
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Heading into the event though, Alonso isn’t expecting any miracles.
“I know that I will not be at the level of the best, but at the same time, I hope to continue learning, complete many kilometres and see what feelings I have,” he explained.
“Everyone has told me that it is unforgettable to spend so many days in the desert, to have to do your own repairs sometimes, to live the race ‘in the wild’, without the precision or even the comforts of F1.
“The objective in terms of competitiveness I can’t say, because I have no references.”
Alonso will be competing for Toyota with Dakar veteran Marc Coma as his co-driver.