Confirmed: Nasser Al-Attiyah will be Fernando Alonso’s teacher for the Dakar 2027 and will be his partner in Aston Martin in the toughest race in the world
There is still no official announcement, but Mundo Deportivo can now confirm that Nasser Al-Attiyah will be Fernando Alonso’s partner in the 2027 Dakar with Aston Martin, both driving the same car with which Nasser became six-time Dakar champion in the last edition, the Prodrive (formerly Dacia) prototype that will now be dressed in the colors of Aston Martin.
And not only that, Nasser Al-Attiyah will act as a teacher for Fernando Alonso in the coming days in a test with the car with which the Qatari won the Dakar 2026the same one managed by Prodrive that the Asturian and the ‘Prince of the Desert’ will wear in the next Dakar 2027.
As Mundo Deportivo has learned, Nasser Al-Attiyah will be in charge of helping Fernando Alonso in his express preparation to return to the Dakar next January, seven years after his debut in 2020 in the toughest race in the world and, on this occasion, with a much tighter and more stressful preparation schedule, since Fernando Alonso had 9 months to prepare for his arrival at the Dakar in 2020.
Now he will only have three months, with seven F1 races in the next nine weeks. Therefore, he will get to work soon with his Qatari friend.
Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fernando Alonso plan to carry out a first joint test in which the current Dakarian king will come exclusively to help him with everything he needs.
It must be remembered that in 2019, in his preparation for his debut in the 2020 Dakar, Alonso began in March with a first joint test with his future Toyota teammate, Giniel De Villiers, to begin to understand his new car. But months later, in September 2019, Nasser already gave a master class in the dunes of Qatar to Fernando Alonso.
“Non-stop. From South Africa to Qatar for more action. Driving and learning from the legend Nasser Al-Attiyah in the dunes. Thank you, my friend! Great first day”he said on that occasion after his first day of testing with Nasser, who taught him how to navigate and interpret the dangers hidden in the dunes. Since then, both have maintained a good friendship.
Nasser signs for the Dakar and leaves his future open for the World Cup
Nasser will sit next to Fernando Alonso in his previous Dacianow Aston Martinto teach you all the secrets of the car, a very different vehicle from the Toyota Hilux that Fernando drove in 2020, much smaller and more compactwith different characteristics.
Nasser will have to teach you all the interior buttons, the driving characteristics and the behavior of the vehicle. In addition, the man from Oviedo will have these months to learn the secrets of mechanics and common car repairs.
According to information collected by this newspaper, Fernando Alonso It was already confirmed in the project Aston Martin for the Dakar 2027but Nasser Al-AttiyahAfter Dacia’s departure from the Dakar, he wanted to wait a little longer to learn about all the options available to him. In fact, he already announced months ago in MD that his intention was to speak with Prodrive to find out his intentions for the Dakar 2027 or face the test with a private team.
And recently, he decided to stay at Prodrive, the structure in which he has been champion this year due to the guarantees offered by the car, with great performance that allows him to aspire to conquer his seventh Dakar.
Nasser Al-Attiyah’s commitment to Prodrive and Aston Martin is, for now, only for Dakar 2027. He has only signed for this test, waiting to make a decision on the team with which he will compete in the full calendar of the 2027 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.
