Al-Attiyah, narrow winner of the 2nd stage: “We were very careful”

A very good day for Nasser Al-Attiyah. Far from the problems encountered by its main competitors, the pilot Toyota managed his day perfectly to win the 2nd stage of the Dakar. The Qatari made a spectacular comeback in the final kilometers to steal the stage victory from Erik van Loon, who failed 14 seconds behind the winner of the day. 

A first success on this Dakar 2023 for the title holder, who nevertheless favored safety over speed. " It was good ! It's a good start on this 2nd day, declared Nasser Al-Attiyah upon arrival in Alula. We were very careful because there were a lot of stones and rocks. The navigation was not easy but we did well. We tried to attack in certain places, but we also wanted to preserve the tires to avoid punctures. Unfortunately, we had one, but it's ok. I'm happy to have arrived and we'll see what happens tomorrow. It's going to be a great battle. »

Al-Attiyah takes advantage of his opponents' setbacks

A puncture which did not prevent him from being the fastest on this 430 kilometer long special between Sea Camp and Alula, while two of his main rivals – Loeb and Peterhansel – suffered several costly punctures. At the end of this 2nd stage, the three-time winner of the Dakar returns to the general standings. Nasser Al-Attiyah moved up to 2nd place, 2'14 behind Carlos Sainz, who gave up 5 minutes to the winner of the day. With Sébastien Loeb already delayed by more than an hour and Stéphane Peterhansel behind in the general standings, the Qatari is already in an ideal position to retain his title.

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