Fernando Alonso finishes as the best rookie of the 2020 Dakar
Fernando Alonso's first experience in the Dakar resulted in a 13th-place finish in the overall standings, a few standout performances, and a distinction as the best rookie in the car category.
For his Dakar debut, Fernando Alonso will not have to be embarrassed about his performance. The Spanish driver, who tackled the event at the wheel of a Toyota Hilux with the experienced Marc Coma as his teammate, was generally impressive in his first laps in the dunes of Saudi Arabia.
The former McLaren driver regularly ranked in the Top 10 of the stages and even in the overall standings until a spectacular series of rollovers in the 10th stage caused him a significant delay, preventing him from finishing better than 13th in the overall standings.
Alonso nevertheless managed to finish 2nd in the 8th stage and 4th in the last one, yet failing in the final standings, more than 4h40 behind the 2020 winner, Carlos Sainz, who thus won his third Dakar after those obtained in 2010 and 2018.
Unfortunately, the race was marred by the death of motorcycle rider Paulo Gonçalvez following an accident during the 7th stage. The 40-year-old Portuguese was competing in his 13th Dakar.
Fernando Alonso’s accident during the 8th stage of the Dakar
