RIYADH (SAUDI ARABIA): Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) led the 44th Dakar Rally from the opening Qualifying Stage to the final special and managed his pace to perfection to seal a fourth victory on the world’s most famous off-road rally.
Benefiting from the meticulous navigational skills of his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel, the Qatari won just three of the 13 stages but applied a master class race strategy to eventually record a winning margin of 27min 46sec over nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb.
The fourth success for Al-Attiyah meant that he equalled Ari Vatanen winning quartet set in Africa.
“It was an incredible Dakar for us. We hadn’t won since 2019. We’re pleased with the new T1+ regulations. Mathieu and I and the team did a great job to win. We had finished second every time since we came to Saudi Arabia two years ago and now we are really happy to achieve our goal. The whole race went without a hitch. We were on high alert, but now we know that we have an amazing car and we will do our best for the World Championship,” Al Attiyah said.
“We opened up a gap on the first day and have since managed our lead. We’re fortunate to get to race the Dakar in Saudi Arabia and I would like to thank the government for this opportunity to discover such breath-taking landscapes.”
Overdrive Racing team-mate Yazeed Al-Rajhi and his co-driver Michael Orr held second overall at the rest day, before slipping behind Loeb after the resumption of competition. The Saudi recorded a well-deserved podium finish on his home event to give Toyota a 1-3 finish.
Al Rajhi said: “I’m really happy and would like to thank everyone who supports me, the mechanics and Jean-Marc Fortin, as well as the organisers. I’m on the podium, but what really matters is that the whole field got to enjoy the race in Saudi Arabia. I’m also pleased for all the spectators who watched us and, of course, I am happy with our podium spot.”
Al Attiyah’s Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Giniel de Villiers overcame his own fair share of dramas and a time penalty to win a stage. He and co-driver Dennis Murphy reached Jeddah in fifth place.
Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke stood in for Erik van Loon at the 11th hour and teamed up with French co-driver Sebastien Delaunay. He recovered well from early time delays and began a gradual fight back through the field, setting a sixth fastest time in SS7 and a fourth quickest run on the final stage. Ten Brinke reached Jeddah in 17th.
Argentina’s Lucio Alvarez and his Spanish navigator Armand Monleón held a top five position for long periods of the Dakar and even set a second quickest time. But punctures and a differential failure cost the Argentine dearly and he slipped out of contention for the top 10. Excellent performances on the run in to Jeddah earned the Toyota Hilux driver 18th place.
Juan Cruz Yacopini and Alejandro Yacopini reached the end of the Dakar in 20th in their Overdrive Racing Toyota, the French duo of Ronan Chabot and Gilles Pillot were classified in 22nd and Portugal’s Miguel Barbosa and Pedro Velosa completed the rally in 35th.
