With his sixth Dakar victory, Nasser Al Attiyah has closed the gap with eight-time winner Stephen Peterhansel.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Be it sand, gravel, rocks, mountain or desert, there is no one to beat Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, the ace Qatari driver, who clinched his sixth FIA Dakar Rally crown on Saturday (January 17) in the dunes of Saudi Arabia.
Winning one Dakar, the most-gruelling off-road event of all times is a big task. And here we have a multi sports icon, who in a span of 15 years, has accomplished the mission six times nonchalantly.
The 55-year-old made his Dakar debut in 2004 in a Mitsubishi, finishing 10th. Since then, he has now won in four different vehicles -- a Volkswagen Race Touareg in 2011, a Mini in 2015, a Toyota in 2019, 2022, 2023 and now in a Dacia Sandriders with Belgian Fabian Lurquin as co-driver, re-asserting his credentials as one of the best off-road racers of all times.
En route to his win in Saudi deserts at the wheels of a Dacia, the Qatari brought his tally of stage wins on the Dakar to 50 to equal the record in the car category previously held by Finnish great Ari Vatanen and the man they called 'Monsieur Dakar' -- France's 14-time winner Stephane Peterhansel.
He also closed the gap with record eight-time winner Peterhansel to just two in cars, with six further wins in bikes.
"This is my sixth victory. I still need to break Peterhansel's record," said an elated Al Attiyah.
Nasser Al Attitah was in a class of his own in the Saudi dunes.
Credit: Reuters Photo
For the layman's knowledge, Al Attiyah is a multi-sports icon who wears different hats -- he is a six-time Dakar Rally champion, has won a bronze medal in skeet shooting in 2012 London Olympics, rides powerboats, coaxes a horse and also tries some archery in his farm house.
Legend says there is even a chapter on him in the history books of Qatar's academic curr
Al Attiyah's accomplishments speak for himself - six Dakar titles, record 20 Middle East Rally Championship wins, five FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies crowns and as many titles in the FIA World Rally-Raid (W2RC) Championships as well as two titles in the support category of World Rally Championship (WRC).
Shooting credentials
The 2012 Asian Shooting Championship which was the last qualifying event for London Olympics was the scene of his historic and heroic feat. As the defending champion in 2012 Dakar Rally, Al Attiyah pulled out of the event, apparently due a break down of his Hummer.
Al Attiyah himself was candid while admitting later that he purposely pulled out to make it to the Asian qualifying event. What followed is as they all say history! Al Attiyah flew down to Qatar from Chile the next day and accomplished his task with a world record-equalling score of 150/150 at the Losail Shooting Range to win a quota for his country and joined an elite band of shooters to have hit all their targets.
Rewind to 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games where he literally did the unthinkable. Al Attiyah had just finished the Cyprus leg of MERC and without even proper practice, straightaway headed to the Chinese city, with his brother (also a shooter) carrying his gun from Doha to Guangzhou. A gold medal in skeet shooting was the end reward!
The first time yours truly came to know about him, he was addressed to me as the Sachin Tendulkar of Qatar by my colleague and I truly stick by it.
The ace Qatari makes it a point to attend each and every call and even when he misses out on answering them, especially in between events, he returns the call back with his trademark "How are you brother, how is everything" response with his typical Arabic accent, which makes you feel comfortable as this journalist has found it out many times.
"I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it's there, deep down. I'm so happy to win," said Al Attiyah, the father of two children.
As Al Attiyah basks in the glory of a sixth Dakar crown where he crossed the line with a 9min, 42sec lead over Ford's Nani Roma, let us raise a toast for this champion nonpareil, who is as comfortable behind the wheel as behind the barrel of a gun! Kudos champion!