Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his French navigator Mathieu Baumel during yesterday's technical inspection.
Doha: Qatar’s ace rally driver Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his French navigator Mathieu Baumel will be the favourites but they will be challenged by a star-studded line-up when the Abu Dhabi Desert Rally gets underway today.
Competitors from around the globe checked in at Yas Marina Circuit yesterday ahead of today’s official start prior to the traditional Sunday morning departure into the Al Dhafra Region, where the main action takes place.
Defending champion Al Attiyah, early leader in the race to become the first World Rally-Raid champion, is the top seeded driver in a Toyota Hilux in the rally which is one of five elite events making up the series.
The four-time Dakar Rally winner will be aiming to add another title under his name after clinching comprehensive wins at the Oman Rally and the Qatar International Rally, the second round of the Middle East Rally Championship earlier this year. Prior to the event in the UAE, Al Attiyah expressed his happiness with the preparatory tests conducted on the car by his team, Overdrive Racing and confirmed his readiness for the challenge in the rally in which he will face a number of opponents he met during the Dakar Rally.
Among his rivals will be Stephane Peterhansel, who is chasing a record seventh cars victory at the wheel of an Audi RS Q e-tron in the 31st edition of the UAE Rally.
Making his debut in the UAE, nine-times World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, along with Yazeed Al Rajhi, Jakub Przygonski, Mathieu Serradori, Sebastian Halpern and Denis Krotov will also target top spots in the Rally.
Of the 38 starting drivers, only Al Attiyah, Peterhansel and the Czech Republic’s Martin Prokop in 2018, have triumphed in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and it’s a similar story on two wheels. While 14 of the world’s leading factory team stars are in a powerful line-up of 50 riders, only Sam Sunderland, Toby Price, Pablo Quintanilla and defending champion Matthias Walkner have stood on the victory podium.
Meanwhile, ADNOC Distribution will play a crucial role in fueling the vehicles during the grueling rally in the UAE, with Super 98 premium fuel.
ADNOC’s My Station trucks will refuel rally contenders as they race across aroute featuring competitive sections of 264km, 318km, 270km, 257km and 217km, with an overall length of 1,917km as Super 98 ensures engines are well equipped to handle the challenges faced as riders and drivers battle the elements in this tough event.
ADNOC Distribution also supplies the jet fuel for the Search and Rescue helicopters which provide potentially life-saving aerial assistance to competitors in need of attention.
