Interview with Fernando Alonso in South Africa

Fernando Alonso and Marc Coma completed an eventful but invaluable learning experience at the Lichtenburg 400 in South Africa on September 13-14 with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. Following successful training sessions in Namibia and Poland, the Spanish duo entered round five of the South African Cross Country Series, their first rally raid competition together in the Toyota Hilux.

Starting from third position on race day, the crew experienced a soft rollover at the 27-kilometre mark. The windscreen of the Hilux was broken and the pair lost time to remove the glass before continuing. Despite the challenges, Fernando Alonso and Marc continued to the end of the 190-kilometre loop and posted competitive split times throughout the remainder of the first loop while wearing goggles to assist visibility in the dust.

At the midday service, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team raced to replace the windscreen and completed minor bodywork repairs on the Hilux in the limited time available. A bird strike five kilometres into the second loop, resulted in a second broken windscreen for the crew. Fernando and Marc again demonstrated their resolve to complete the final 190-kilometre loop while taking turns to hold the broken windscreen in place between driving and navigating. They continued to post competitive split times and were classified 16th overall.

We got the opportunity to sit down with Fernando Alonso to ask him a few questions.

Q: In off-road racing you have to do a lot of repairs along the route. Have you done any training for this?

A: “I’m not repairing things yet but it one of my targets in the coming months is to learn how to change some of the more common problems on the car. We have a book on the car that is about 78-pages that we need to study, but everything is going according to plan. We are taking it step by step but we are not at that point yet.”

Q: What does it feel like to drive as a navigator?

A: “It has been better than I thought. I’m used to hearing a lot of things in my radio in Formula 1 like recommendations, buttons to change on the steering, tyres, brakes and wear. This time was different because it’s just about where you have to go. It was a normal process for me, just slightly more intense in the dunes of Namibia but obviously Marc has a lot of experience and knowledge in reading the dunes so he was also doing a bit of driving and navigating from his seat. I try my best to give a 100% and bring everything I can to the team.”

Q: This is one of your first racing situations in a car. How is it different from a motorcycle and how is it having somebody else doing the driving?

A: “Of course it’s very different. Sitting in a car is more safe and the speed is not so different from a bike but you have to be more precise.”

Q: How exciting is it to step outside of your F1 comfort zone?

A: “It is challenging, I’m not doing these things for fun. There’s a lot to learn and you’re never fully in control. I feel like the biggest strength of my career has been my ability to adapt to things like the rules and the cars. I can adapt quickly, so I thought I should exploit this ability to different races. It’s challenging but I’m proud of it.”

Q: Mentally and physically, how has preparing for rally and preparing for Formula 1 been different?

A: “Physically, I didn’t get to a point where I felt like I wasn’t 100% there, probably because this stage wasn’t as long as some of the other stages that are coming later on. Mentally, I found it very stressful . It was demanding . In f1 it’s a closed circuit, so you just make small changes in your driving. Here you need to keep your focus at 100% for 180-kilometers. There is always something unexpected behind that tree or behind that rock. That level of concentration has been very new to me.”