Fernando Alonso admits simply reaching the finish line is his main goal as he kicks off his first Dakar Rally.
The double Formula 1 world champion is teaming up with four-time winner of the event Marc Coma to tackle the terrain of Saudi Arabia in a Toyota Hilux Rally Raid machine.
His entry follows months of testing and several warm-up events but ahead of the first stage on Sunday, Alonso acknowledged the scale of what he was about to attempt.
"We know that only one in four people who start this event will get to the end - that's tough. I know it will be very difficult," he said.
"I don't think there is anything more different to Formula 1 than the Dakar, but it's an interesting challenge certainly, impossible on paper, but I want to take it on and learn.
"The preparation I have done the past few months has enriched me as a driver, which is one of my priorities when I confront these kinds of challenges: to be better at the end of each of them.
"I have to approach it with a certain calmness. I don't want to go to the Dakar, then quit after the second or third day because of a stupid mistake."
The foray into rallying is just the latest experience Alonso has taken on in recent years, following two attempts at the Indianapolis 500 and a full WEC super-season, including two Le Mans 24 Hours successes.
And all of this, the 38-year-old claims, is part of a personal goal to cement himself as one of the best all-round racing drivers ever.
"I do nothing to prove anything, I do it for fun," he said. "If I can make a good Dakar and be fast in cross-country or rally cars of this type, I would have little more to prove.
"Let someone else win everything I won and then be fast in cross-country...
"I do not come for publicity, I do not need it," Fernando insists. "I would have more fun in another discipline where you are more in your comfort zone. This is something totally new and outside of your control.
"The main objective is to try to finish. After all, I would like to reach the end and be able to say that I have finished a Dakar."
After Day 1, Alonso sits 11th overall in class, 15 minutes behind the early leader Vaidotos Zala.
