Nasser Al-Attiyah, the triggerman of the rally-raid

Born on December 21, 1970 in Doha, the capital of the emirate, Nasser Al-Attiyah moved easily from automobile competitions to shooting ranges.

In 2004, the Qatari finished just off the Olympic podium in trap shooting at the Athens 2004 Games (Greece).

Two years later, he became production car world rally champion in a Subaru Impreza that he shared with Chris Patterson. A 16-time winner in the Middle East Rally Championship, Al-Attiyah was also crowned in WRC2 during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

In 2012, he hit the mark in shooting as he won the bronze medal in London (UK) in the skeet event. A year earlier, Al-Attiyah had added the famous Dakar to his list of achievements for the first time.

2011: first victory on the Dakar, then South American, for Al-Attiyah, who competed under the Volkswagen colors / © DPPI

In 2010, he came within 2”12 of victory (behind the Volkswagen of Carlos Sainz) on the most famous race of rally-raid in the world, which was then fought in South America. This is always the smallest gap at the finish of a Dakar car.

Al-Attiyah, then supported by Timo Gottschalk at Volkswagen, took his revenge the following year and became the first national of an Arab country to win the legendary off-road event.

Il récidive en 2015, cette fois-ci avec Mini et le Français Mathieu Baumel, qui l’a rejoint à ses côtés. Passés chez Toyota en 2017, Al-Attiyah et Baumel s’imposent de nouveau au Dakar en 2019. La même année, il remporte le non moins célèbre Silk Way Rally, toujours épaulé de Baumel.

2015: second Dakar victory for Al-Attiyah, this time with Mini and Baumel at his side / © DPPI

While the Dakar is re-located to Saudi Arabia, a neighboring country to his native Qatar, from 2020, Al-Attiyah must be content with a runner-up place behind Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel during the first two Saudi editions.

At the wheel of the new Toyota Hilux T1+, Al-Attiyah, always flanked by his faithful companion Baumel, will experience a prosperous year in 2022 with a 4th success on the Dakar, his first in the Middle East, as well as a victory in the general classification of the very first FIA World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) in history.

Al-Attiyah and Baumel were the title holders after their success at the 2022 Dakar, their first in Saudi Arabia / © DPPI

Peterhansel's record in the sights?

For the 2023 edition of the Dakar, the Toyotas were no longer the favorites at the start (December 31), supplanted by the impressive Audi RS Q e-tron and their electric motors. However, two weeks later, it was Al-Attiyah and Baumel who won again.

With 3 stage victories, all in the first week, the duo widened the gap at the start of the event while their rivals Audi, as well as Sébastien Loeb-Fabian Lurquin on Prodrive, suffered many setbacks.

The nine-time world champion WRC and his Belgian navigator may string together six stage victories in the second week, but Al-Attiyah and Baumel will never panic.

As in shooting, where he excels, the Qatari will maintain his composure until the end to bag a 5th Dakar after 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2022.

At 53 years old, the Qatari is almost a youngster compared to veterans Sainz (60 years old) and Peterhansel (57 years old). In other words: he has time to claim the record of 8 car victories held by the Frenchman in the premier rally-raid event.

Al-Attiyah and Baumel already have the 2024 Dakar in their sights. Until then, they hope to also retain their W2RC title.

Al-Attiyah is also a distinguished shooter, Olympic medalist in London / © Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

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