FIA World Rally-Raid Championship: Nasser Al Attiyah sounds early warning to Dakar rivals

Bengaluru, October 24: Qatari ace Nasser Al Attiyah has sounded a stern early warning to his Dakar Rally 2023 rivals by clinching the inuagural FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).

The four-time Dakar Rally winner finished second at the gruelling Andalucia Rally, the final round of W2RC, and duly sealed the drivers' title in the championship.

Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel guided their Toyota GR DKR Hilux to the runner-up spot on the demanding event that used a multitude of varied tracks and trails across three provinces in southern Spain.

FIA World Rally-Raid Championship: Nasser Al Attiyah claims title as Sebastien Loeb wins Andalucia Rally FIA World Rally-Raid Championship: Nasser Al Attiyah claims title as Sebastien Loeb wins Andalucia Rally

They finished just 6sec behind title rival and nine-time World Rally Championship (WRC) winner Sebastien Loeb and his Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin.

When inclement weather conditions forced race officials to cancel the second stage through the Malaga region, the decision was taken to only award half points for the Andalucian event and that made it virtually impossible for Loeb to catch the Qatari.

Nevertheless, Al Attiyah, overcame a couple of punctures and won the short final stage by 22sec.

Close fight with Loeb

Toyota Gazoo Racing also pipped Bahrain Raud Extreme to the W2RC's Manufacturers' Championship. "This is a fantastic result for us to cap a memorable season," said Al Attiyah, the defending Dakar Rally champion.

"It wasn't easy and we had a fantastic fight all weekend with Loeb. But we've won the title for the first time and that was goal at the start of the programme."

Pulsating battle

A pulsating battle between Al Attiyah and Loeb has kept the motorsports buffs on the edge of our seats throughout the W2RC season.

Al Attiyah's Dakar win earlier this year - in his Toyota Hilux -- alongside Baumel, got his championship off to the perfect start. However the Qatari speedster was not given a moment to relax all season by his French rival and it was only on the finish line of the Andalucia Rally that Al Attiyah could enjoy his latest victory.

Amazing year

The four-race W2RC series spread across three continents has brought out the very best of the world's premier off-roaders. And now the focus of the convoy turns to the upcoming Dakar Rally 2023 to be heldt at Saudi Arabia in January with defending champion Al Attiyah in pole position going to the event.

Running from January 1 until January 15, the legendary race will test the convoy over 5,000 kms of challenging terrain. Only the bravest and the best will park themselves on the podium.

Over to Dakar

The year 2022 marked an exciting new chapter for cross-country rallying, as the W2RC discipline became the seventh World Championship under the governance of the FIA.

And with Al Attiyah annexing the crown, he has literally given a stern warning to his rivals in cross-country rally that he is still the master. Over to Dakar 2023 now!