Sharp-shooting Al-Attiyah takes aim at sixth Dakar title

JEDDAH: The Dakar Rally roars into life on Friday in Saudi Arabia with Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah seeking a sixth title and third in a row in the mythic motorsport marathon.

A 425-strong colourful caravanserai made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks sets out from Al-Ula on a treacherous 4,900-mile odyssey around the Gulf kingdom with a January 19 finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea.

This year´s route includes a first ever 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see. Al-Attiyah, 53, is adept at multi-tasking - juggling the sand dunes of Saudi with his other passion, skeet shooting.

He took bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, and in September added two medals at the Asian Games to add to the shooting golds he collected in 2002 and 2010.

He now puts his preparations for his seventh Olympics in Paris in July to one side to try to become only the third driver to win three successive Dakars.

“The last Dakar was difficult for everyone. It´s incredible that I was able to hold on to my title,” he told the event´s official website.

Al-Attiyah first mastered the Dakar in 2011 in a Volkswagen, winning the 2015 edition in a Mini before success for Toyota in 2019, 2022 and last year.

He has since left the Japanese constructor to drive his Nasser Racing Team-sponsored and British-based Prodrive Hunter. “I´m so happy to have won five times. I´m now delighted to be part of a new team and to take on a new challenge for the next Dakar.