'It was incredible,' says Alonso after Dakar Rally test

Fernando Alonso, who quit F1 last season, already features for Toyota in the world endurance championship and has reportedly been earmarked for a start in the 2020 Dakar event.

The 37-year-old Fernando Alonso shared driving duties on Wednesday with Giniel de Villiers who was part of the Toyota team which saw Nasser Al-Attiyah triumph in the Dakar in January.

Former two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso said it “was incredible” to drive a Dakar Rally winning Toyota on Wednesday as the Spaniard eyed a possible run-out in motor racing's most gruelling event.

Alonso, who quit F1 last season, already features for the Japanese manufacturer in the world endurance championship and has reportedly been earmarked for a start in the 2020 Dakar event which takes place in South America.

The 37-year-old Alonso shared driving duties on Wednesday with Giniel de Villiers who was part of the Toyota team which saw Nasser Al-Attiyah triumph in the Dakar in January.

“It was incredible,” said 2005 and 2006 F1 champion Alonso after Wednesday's test which took place in the searing heat of the Kalahari desert in southern Africa.

“We went faster and faster. We took confidence from it all even if it wasnt always easy to read the sand dunes, their height and how fast you can drive around them.”