Al-Attiyah, a dreamer who became a winner

Nasser Al-Attiyah, at 40 years old, achieved the goal he had set for himself in recent seasons: winning the Dakar. In 2010, he finished second, less than three minutes behind Carlos Sainz, the smallest gap in the history of the Dakar between the first two. Al-Attiyah then promised himself that he would come back to win and succeeded in doing so a year later.

He completed his first Dakar in 2004 and, already, the Qatari was getting noticed. Although equipped with a private Mitsubishi, he managed to finish tenth in the general classification. In 2005, he joined the X-Raid team alongside Stéphane Peterhansel. If he stands out for his ability to roam the dunes and tame the sand, he also makes a flight that labels him a “car wrecker”.

Alongside this career in rally-raid, Al-Attiyah also competes in the World Rally Championship, in P-WRC. In 2006, co-driven by Chris Patterson (now co-driver of Petter Solberg), he won the title of Production World Champion in a Subaru Impreza.

But the Qatari also has another string to his bow since he defends the colors of his country at the Olympic Games. A specialist in Skeet (ball-trap), he took part in the Summer Olympics from 1996 to 2008, placing sixth in this discipline in 2000 and fourth in 2004. If Olympic gold is denied to him, Nasser Al-Attiyah can congratulate himself on his progress on four wheels.

In 2007, he actually finished sixth in the Dakar, which ended again in Dakar, but in 2009, he finished with a retirement (no Dakar in 2008, canceled by the organization). Despite this misstep, Kris Nissen, boss of Volkswagen Motorsport, contacted him so that the Qatari would join the ranks of VW. At the wheel of the best car in the field, the Race Touareg, Nasser Al-Attiyah can then aim for victory.

After having compromised his chances of victory at the Rally dos Sertoes and then at the Silk Way Rally, the ball-trap specialist distinguished himself during the 2010 Dakar. Neck and neck with Carlos Sainz until the last day, he finished just 2? 16?? of the Spaniard, winner of his first Dakar. “Next year, I will win,” declared Al-Attiyah, initially frustrated by his result, after some tense exchanges with Sainz during the race. Then happy with his result, the Qatari gets motivated again to achieve his goal.

This year, the Dakar seems to be going like 2010, with Carlos Sainz fast and leading the entire first week. But, during the second week, the Qatari pressed where it hurts and took the advantage in the dunes, where the Spaniard lost his footing. Consistent and making no, or very few, errors, Al-Attiyah saw Sainz make a series of them and his victory was getting closer.

Last Saturday, he arrived in Buenos Aires as a big winner and was able to celebrate a success that he had dreamed of for a long time. “It means a lot to win the Dakar, for me, for my people, for my country and my team. It's a big victory. It's very difficult to explain what's going on in my head. But it's very nice. This is the greatest moment of my sporting career. It was a dream to win the Dakar. I think after this victory everyone will know where Qatar is. »