Andalucía Rally 2020: WRX star Kevin Hansen lines up alongside host of Dakar champions

Off-road heroes set for five days and over 1,354km at Andalucía Rally in Spain.

The 2020 Andalucía Rally will see a host of former Dakar Rally champions line up for five days of combative rally-raid action over 1,354km in southern Spain as FIA World Rallycross star Kevin Hansen sets out on a new adventure. Here is all you need to know:

Expect a heavyweight tussle in the car category as Spaniard Carlos Sainz, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah and Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel engage in battle with the trio winning the Dakar a staggering 19 times between them as well as WRC titles and Olympic medals.

Reigning Dakar champion Sainz will be at the wheel of a MINI John Cooper Works Buggy and Peterhansel a 4x4 MINI Rally which he drove to victory at last month's Baja Poland, while Al-Attiyah will continue with the Toyota Hilux he brought to victory at the 2019 Dakar.

Peterhansel, 55, said: "I have a new co-pilot sitting next to me and I think Edouard (Boulanger) has a lot of potential that he can certainly exploit to the fullest."

Former Dakar bike champions Toby Price (AUS), Sam Sunderland (GBR) and Matthias Walkner (AUT) saddle up for Red Bull KTM Factory Team plus new recruit Daniel Sanders (AUS) as Laia Sanz (ESP) races on home soil and CS Santosh (IND) will be onboard Hero hardware.

Price, 33, said: "It's certainly been a tough time for everyone since January. I'm really thankful that the organisers have managed to arrange this rally in Spain."

Sanders added: "I'm a few weeks into my rally career and it's really different. It's exciting though. I'm learning every day and I've been working on my roadbook skills."

In the side-by-side (SxS) contest, Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) is back behind the wheel of his OT3 by Overdrive while Seth Quintero (USA) - who just turned 18 - and FIA World Rallycross sensation Hansen (SWE) are both getting their first drive in Andalucía.

Hansen, 22, explained: "To have a co-driver is nice because I can share this adventure with someone. It's like learning a new language to understand pace notes."

Source Red Bull Motorsports / 
Photo: Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool