The Qatari driver Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (the defending champion) topped the general standings of the Dakar International Rally for the year 2023, which is being hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the fourth time in a row, until the fifteenth of this January, with the participation of 820 drivers and navigators, representing 68 different countries.

Al Attiyah (Toyota driver) succeeded in grabbing the lead in the general standings on 3 January 2022, after his Spanish rival Carlos Science (Audi driver) faced a series of mechanical problems, while Saudi Yazid Al-Rajhi (Toyota) won the third stage, which ended prematurely due to heavy rain.

Science entered the Alula special stage with a narrow lead of the overall standings by 2 minutes 12 seconds from Nasser Al-Attiyah, with both drivers scoring one stage win each during the opening two days, but the Spaniard dealt a major blow to his hopes of a fifth Dakar win when his car broke down after about 213 kilometres of the stage after he had problems with the left rear tire, which cost him about half an hour for his Qatari competitor.

Science was able to bounce back after a gruelling overhaul, but there was more drama for the two-time rally champion later when navigation problems kept him another 20 minutes from his rival, and the problems were not far from Al-Attiyah himself, as he finished outside the top ten. The first, but the dramatic decline of Science was enough to snatch Al-Attiyah's lead in the overall standings after the third stage.

Al-Attiyah is 13 minutes and 20 seconds ahead of Al-Rajhi, while the veteran Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel ranks third, 20 minutes behind the lead, while Science slipped to eighth.

Source: QNA
Cover image credit: NadeebQa

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar

Fareeha Imtiaz

Start a discussion