Al Attiyah wins inaugural FIA W2RC title

The Peninsula

Madrid: Four-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah finished second at the Andalucia Rally and duly sealed the drivers’ title in the inaugural FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).

The Qatari driver and 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. They finished just six seconds behind title rival and nine-time WRC champion Scbastien Loeb and his Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin.

When inclement weather conditions forced race officials to cancel the second stage through the Malaga region on Friday, 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 on Saturday and won the short finalstage by 22 seconds.

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. “It was not easy and we had a fantastic fight all weekend with Loeb. But we have won the title for the first time and that was goal at the start of the programme.”

Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk von Zitzewitz finished third in their Overdrive Racing Toyota. They were classified second in the qualifying stage and then maintained a top three position throughout the five days to confirm third place in the Drivers’ Championship.

Al Attiyah shadowed Loeb to the finish of the opening qualifying stage of 9.61km and dropped just five seconds to the Frenchman,but he was later awarded a one-minute penalty for speeding and slipped down to 21st. Al Rajhi came home in second, 17 seconds in arrears, and Van Loon and Baud were seventh and 13th. Isidre Esteve made a cautious start in 27th.

The opening selective section carved a passage through the Sevilla region of southern Spain for 317.33km. Al Attiyah’s starting position of 11th proved to be extremely advantageous and the Qatari stormed to the stage win, beating Al Rajhi by 8min 46sec and Loeb by 11min 25sec to storm into a lead of 7min 58sec.

Baumel said: “We started from the 11th position. The stage was very technical and the navigation was not easy, as we had many junctions and a lot of way-points to check and to manage in the car.

Van Loon held fifth overall, Esteve Pujol was 11th and Baud returned to Dos Hermanas in 19th.

Stage two (223.74km) headed into the Málaga Province but was delayed because of poor weather conditions. Race officials then shortened the day’s action to just 84km before taking the unfortunate decision to cancel the day’s action entirely and instruct competitors to return directly to Dos Hermanos.

That decision, although disappointing, strengthened Al Attiyah’s grip on the inaugural W2RC Drivers’ title and the Qatari knew that a good run through the third stage of 284km in the Huelva region could prove decisive. Fog delayed the start but At Attiyah received welcome news that his day one speeding penalty had been rescinded.

The stage ran through pine and eucalyptus groves and across fast open terrain and Al Attiyah ceded time to both Loeb and Al Rajhi, the Qatari eventually finishing the day’s section 11min 48sec behind the Frenchman, who moved 2min 20sec ahead of Al Rajhi and back into the overall lead. Al Attiyah came home fourth after collecting two early punctures and headed into the last day trailing Loeb by 28 seconds.

But the cancellation of the second leg meant that only half points would be awarded at the Andalucia Rally and the Qatari headed into the final day knowing that a finish would guarantee him the world title.

Loeb and Al Attiyah were just one second apart after 29km but the Qatari managed to edge in front and won the last stage by just 22 seconds. The fourth quickest time was sufficient for Al Rajhi to round off the podium places.

Andalucia Rally Results

1. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL) Prodrive Hunter BRX – 8hr 40min 35sec

2. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota GR DKRHilux – 8hr 40min 41sec

3. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive – 8hr 49min 01sec

4. Guerlain Chicherit (FRA)/Alex Winocq (FRA) GCKProdrive Hunter BRX – 8hr 55mij 39sec

5. Guillaume de Mevius (BEL)/François Cazalet (FRA) Grallyteam OT3 – 9hr 07min 42sec.

قنا

مدريد: توج السائق القطري ناصر بن صالح العطية رسميا بلقب بطولة العالم للراليات الصحراوية للموسم 2022، بعد احتلاله المركز الثاني في رالي الاندلس الدولي في إسبانيا، الذي يشكل الجولة الرابعة والأخيرة من البطولة العالمية.

ورفع العطية رصيده في صدارة الترتيب العام إلى 181 نقطة وبفارق 17 نقطة عن الفرنسي سيباستيان لوب صاحب المركز الثاني، فيما جاء السعودي يزيد الراجحي في المركز الثالث برصيد 130 نقطة.

وأنهي السائق القطري بصحبة ملاحه الفرنسي ماتيو بوميل على متن سيارة /تويوتا هايلوكس جي آر دي كاي آر/ رالي الأندلس في المركز الثاني بزمن إجمالي قدره 8.40.41 ساعات، وبفارق 5 ثوان فقط خلف الفرنسي سيباستيان لوب بصحبة ملاحه البلجيكي فابيان لوركين على متن سيارة /بي آر أكس – برودرايف هانتر/ صاحب المركز الأول والفائز باللقب بزمن إجمالي قدره 8.40.35 ساعات.

وجاء في المركز الثالث السائق السعودي يزيد الراجحي بصحبة ملاحه الألماني ديريك فون تسايسفيتس على متن سيارة /تويوتا هايلوكس أوفردرايف/ في المركز الثالث بزمن قدره 8.49.01 ساعات، فيما جاء الفرنسي غيرلان شيشريه بصحبة ملاحه ومواطنه أليكس وينوك على متن سيارة /باغي جي سي كاي ثاندر/ في المركز الرابع بزمن قدره 8.55.39 ساعات، بينما اكمل البلجيكي غيوم دي ميفيوس بصحبة ملاحه الفرنسي فرانسوا كازاليت على متن /بي آر أكس – برودرايف هانتر/ قائمة المراكز الخمسة الأولى بزمن قدره 9.07.03 ساعات.