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Al Attiyah vows to win Dakar next time

It was the sixth overall Dakar podium of an illustrious career which also includes two victories (2011 and 2015).

By Sajith
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah


Bengaluru/Doha, January 22: For pre-rally favourite Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, the 40th Dakar Rally was worth remembering.

The Qatari gave a tough fight to eventual champion Carlos Sainz before settling for the runner-up place.

It was the sixth overall Dakar podium of an illustrious career which also includes two victories (2011 and 2015).

What stood out during the two-week adventure in South America was Al Attiyah's resilience, especially in the fourth stage where he got stuck in the sand for more than 20 minutes.

Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah

"In the first week I had so many problems I thought my chance to finish on the podium had gone," recalled Al Attiyah after the 9,000km rally which started in Peru, and passed through Bolivia ended in Argentina last Saturday (January 20).

<strong>Sainz champ, Al Attiyah second</strong>Sainz champ, Al Attiyah second

The Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa driver won four stages in his Hilux (1, 3, 12 and 13) including two in a row and pushed all Sainz all the way. In the process, he also went past defending champion Stephane Peterhansel.

There were occasions when it looked completely lost, especially in the second stage, where his co-driver Mathieu Baumel fell to a bout of sickness in the dunes.

The gruelling rally had already claimed high-profile casualties like Sebastien Loeb and Andre Villas-Boas, but Al Attiyah held his nerve and staged a tremendous fight back to stay in the title hunt till the end.

"Considering all the problems we had in the beginning of this rally, I think to finish in second place is a good result for me. I'm thankful for all the support from Toyota Gazoo Racing SA. Everybody was working so hard and I'm glad I could give the team this result as a way to say thank you. We did a good job fighting back and second place isn't bad," the Red Bull athlete added.

Relief and exhaustion was palpable in Al Attiyah's words. Afterall, he was the only driver to put pressure on Sainz till the chequered flag was waved. Even till the penultimate day, he had not lost hope of turning it around.

"There're a few minutes between me and Carlos (Sainz) and everything is possible," was his comment when asked whether the title race was over after the 13th stage.

With two wins, as many runner-up finishes and third-place finishes, Al Attiyah's Dakar CV looks impressive, especially considering the fact he is a sportsman who excels in two disciplines - shooting being the other.

It is worth mentioning that Al Attiyah had won the bronze in skeet shooting in the 2012 London Olympics and is still eyeing a yellow metal at Tokyo Games in 2020.

He has been cutting on rally commitments in recent times, but Dakar has always remained on top of his priority list.

"Every day the result was changing. It was a crazy Dakar but we love it and would like to thank the organisers for everything, for making this a really hard Dakar," said the Qatari.

It is for the second time that Al Attiyah is playing second fiddle to Sainz with the first happening in 2010 when they were team-mates at Volkwagen.

Al Attiyah hopes to be lucky third time though.
"I remember in 2010, I was second behind Sainz. Now in 2018, I've finish behind again. But, I'll do my best for next year to win the Dakar. Next year, absolutely I can win it," Al Attiyah concluded.

(With Red Bull Media inputs)

Story first published: Monday, January 22, 2018, 13:10 [IST]
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